
SoUt 



OF 



ELSO|M 



BLAISDELL 








GiNN S Company. 



' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap. , Copyright No. 

SheltiliA.,S 7 
- iSMo. 

UNITED- STATES OF AMERICA. 



SOUTHEY'S 



C^ .-..>■^..=.^i, \ 



LIFE OF NELSON 



EDITED 



With an Introduction and Notes 



BY 



ALBERT F. BLAISDELL 






boston, U.S.A., AND LONDON 

PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY 

1896 



fl 



THE LIBRARY 
Of CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



Copyright, 1896 
By GINN & COMPANY 






ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 




CONTENTS. 



OO^^^CK. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION - . . . vii 

CHAPTER I. 1758-1783 I 

First Years at Sea. 

Nelson's Birth and Boyhood — He is entered on Board the Raisonnable — 
Goes to the West Indies in a Merchant-ship — His Dislike to the Royal Navy 

— Serves in the Triumph — Sails in Captain Phipps' Voyage of Discovery to 
the North Pole — Adventures in the Polar Regions — Proceeds to the East 
Indies in the Seahorse — Returns in 111 Health — Consequent Despondency 

— Reaction of Feeling — Serves as Acting-Lieutenant in the Worcester^ and is 
made Lieutenant into the Lowestoffe, Commander into the Badger Brig, and 
Post into the Hinchinbrook — Expedition against the Spanish Main — Its 
Failure — Injury to Nelson's Health — He is appointed to the Janus, but 
obliged to resign the Command — Returns to England — He is sent to the 
Baltic Sea in the Albemarle — His Services during the American War. 

CHAPTER 11. 1784-1792 25 

In the West Indies. 

Nelson is reappointed to the Boreas — Goes to the West Indies — His 
Kindness to his Midshipmen — Enforces the Navigation Act — Meets v^ith 
Opposition from the West Indians — Seizes four American Vessels — Is 
prosecuted by the Captains — Marries the Widow of Dr. Nisbet — Exposes 
the Conduct of the Navy Contractors — Returns to England — His Reception 

— Is on the Point of quitting the Service in Disgust — His Manner of Life 
while at Home — Is threatened with a New Prosecution — Applies for Active 
Employment — Appointed to the Agamemnon on the breaking out of the War 
oi the French Revolution. 



iv CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 1793-1795 .39 

First Service in the Mediterranean. 

The Agamemnon sent to the Mediterranean — Joins Commodore Linzee at 
Tunis — Is ordered to Corsica, to cooperate with PaoU — Siege of St. Fiorenzo 

— Nelson besieges and reduces Bastia — Takes a Prominent Part in the Siege 
of Calvi — Loses an Eye — The Agamemnon engages the Qa Ira and Censeur 

— Nelson proceeds to Genoa to cooperate with the Austrian and Sardinian 
Forces — General de Vins — His Character and Conduct — Nelson's Difficul- 
ties — Defeat of the Austrians. 



CHAPTER IV. 1795-1797 66 

Battle off Cape St. Vincent. 

Sir John Jervis takes the Command — His Confidence in Nelson — Napoleon 
begins his Career — His first Successes in Italy — Genoa openly joins the French 
— Evacuation of Corsica — Nelson superintends the Embarkation at Bastia — 
Hoists his Broad Pendant in the Minerve Frigate — Engages two Spanish 
Frigates — Leaves the Mediterranean — Proceeds to join the Admiral — Falls 
in with the Spanish Fleet — Battle off Cape St. Vincent — Captures the San 
Nicolas and San Joseph — Receives the Order of the Bath — Commands the 
Inner Squadron at the Blockade of Cadiz — Conflict with a Spanish Launch — 
Expedition against Santa Cruz — Is shot through the Arm — Failure of the 
Attack — Nelson returns to England — Sufferings from his Wound — Recovery. 



CHAPTER V. 1798 89 

The Battle of the Nile. 

Nelson hoists his Flag in the Vanguard^ and joins Earl St. Vincent — Is 
dispatched to the Mediterranean — Sails in Search of the French Fleet — 
Returns to Sicily, and victuals at Syracuse — Sails again for Egypt — Finds 
the French Fleet in Aboukir Bay — His Plan of Attack — Battle of the Nile 
— Is wounded in the Head — Blowing up of the Orient — The Result of the 
Battle a Conquest, not a Victory — His Expression of Regret at the Want of 
Frigates — Honors conferred upon him. 



CONTENTS. V 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VI. 1798-1800 114 

Fighting the French in Italy. 

Returns to Naples — His Reception there — State of that Court and King- 
dom — General Mack — Defeat of the Neapolitan Army — The French 
approach Naples — Flight of the Royal Family — Renewed Operations against 
the French — Fort St. Elmo — Nelson arrives, and annuls the Capitulation — 
Disobeys the Order to repair to Minorca — His Reasons — Is made Duke of 
Bronte — Expels the French from Rome — Siege of Malta — Sufferings of the 
Troops and People — Conduct of the Sicilian Court — Decided Measures of 
Captain Ball — Capitulation of Malta — Nelson leaves the Mediterranean, and 
returns to England — Incidents of his Journey — Popular Admiration of him 
— The Old German Pastor. 



CHAPTER VII. 1800-1801 139 

Battle of the Baltic. 

Enthusiastic Reception of Nelson in England — Is sent to the Baltic under 
Sir Hyde Parker — The Expedition against Copenhagen — Plans of Attack — 
Difficulties in passing the Sound — The Fleet off Cronenburg Castle — Battle 
of Copenhagen — Sir Hyde makes the Signal to cease Action, which is disobeyed 
by Nelson — Success of the British — Nelson's Letter to the Crown Prince — 
Cessation of Hostilities — Negotiations for an Armistice — Nelson's Interviews 
with the Crown Prince — Is made a Viscount. 



CHAPTER VIII. 1801-1805 168 

Nelson again in the Mediterranean. 

Recall of Sir Hyde Parker, and Appointment of Nelson to the Command — 
Goes to Revel — Peace with Russia, and Settlement of Affairs in the Baltic — 
Returns to England — Commands the Channel Fleet — Unsuccessful Attack 
upon the French Flotilla at Boulogne — Peace of Amiens — Renewal of the 
War — Nelson again takes the Command in the Mediterranean — Hostilities 
with Spain — Blockade of Toulon — Escape of Villeneuve's Fleet — Nelson 
goes to Egypt in Search of it — Then chases it to the West Indies and back — 
Delivers up his Squadron to Admiral Cornwallis — Returns to England. 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER IX. 1805 201 

Battle of Trafalgar. 

Sir Robert Calder's Action — Villeneuve's Fleet gets into Cadiz — General 
Approval of Nelson's Conduct — His Life at Merton — His Anxiety regarding 
the Combined Fleets — Offers his Services, and is reappointed to the Command 
in the Mediterranean — His Departure from Portsmouth — Popular Demon- 
strations of Attachment to him — Arrives off Cadiz — Reception of him by the 
Fleet — Villeneuve puts to Sea — Nelson's Plan of Attack — Judicious Dispo- 
sitions of Villeneuve — Nelson's Celebrated Signal — Battle of Trafalgar — 
Breaking the Enemy's Line — Nelson receives his Death Wound — His Last 
Moments — Capture of the Redoubtable^ from which the Fatal Shot v^^as fired 
— Results of the Battle — Honors conferred on Nelson's Memory — Conclusion. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES 229 

MEMOIR OF NELSON'S SERVICES . . » 233 



INTRODUCTION. 



Southey's " Life of Nelson," one of the most popular and 
readable biographies ever written, is an enlargement of an 
article which appeared in the Quarterly Review of London 
eighty-five years ago.^ This brief sketch was afterwards 
enlarged at the request of the eminent publisher, Mr. Murray, 
and was first published by him in the Family Library some 
three years after, in 1813. 

Mr. Southey, in speaking of its publication, says : 

" The ' Life of Nelson ' was completed this morning (Feb. i, 
18 13). This is a subject which I should never have dreamt 
of touching, if it had not been thrust upon me. I have walked 
among sea-terms as carefully as a cat does among crockery ; 
but if I have succeeded in making the narrative continuous 
and clear, — the very reverse of what it is in the lives before 
me, — the materials are in themselves so full of character, so 
picturesque, and so sublime, that it cannot fail of being a good 
book." 

The following extract from the original preface" briefly explains 
the motive which stimulated the author to write the life of 
Lord Nelson : 

1 " This, which was perhaps, upon the whole, the most popular of any of 
my father's works, originated in an article in the fifth number of the 
Quarterly Review (February, 18 10), which was enlarged at Murray's request. 
My father received altogether ;i^300 for it, — ^100 for the Review ; jC^oo 
when the 'Life' was enlarged; and ;^ioo when it was published in the 
Family Lih-aryT — Southey^ s Life ajid Correspondence, chap, xviij. 



Viii INTRODUCTION. 

" Many lives of Nelson have been written ; one is yet wanting 
clear and concise enough to become a manual for the young 
sailor, which he may carry about with him till he has treasured 
up the example in his memory and in his heart. In attempting 
such a work I shall write the eulogy of our great naval hero ; 
for the best eulogy of Nelson is the faithful history of his 
actions ; the best history that which shall relate them most 
perspicuously." 

Mr. Southey's little book rose at once into universal favor, 
and has ever since been regarded as one of our popular and 
standard biographies. What is the secret of its popularity? 
Why has this little book been read and reread for more than 
eighty years ? Why has it been an old-time favorite all these 
years with young people ? The explanation is not difficult. 
In the first place, Southey was a writer of exceptional ability, 
and an unwearied and skillful editor. He was master of a 
style which has always commanded admiration for its clear- 
ness and simplicity. His literary, and also personal, fortunes 
were intimately associated with those of Coleridge and Words- 
worth. He was not equal to either of them in genius, but 
he had abilities of a high order. For many years he made 
himself a magnate in the world of letters, doing his duty, 
says Thackeray, "for fifty noble years of labor; day by day 
storing up learning ; day by day working for scant wages ; 
charitable out of his small means ; bravely faithful to the 
calling he had chosen, refusing to turn from his path for 
popular praise or prince's power. I hope his life will not be 
forgotten for it is sublime in its simplicity, its energy, its honor, 
its affection." 

Mr. Southey wrote many long and now forgotten poems, 
and scores of volumes, and articles for the quarterlies and other 
periodicals, which required great accuracy and vast research. 
Except the "Life of Wesley" and the "Life of Nelson," 
and a few short poems, the vast literary productions of this 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

unwearied author are rarely read. " Southey's ' Life of Nel- 
son,' " says Macaulay, " is, beyond all doubt, the most perfect 
and delightful of his works. No writer, perhaps, ever lived 
whose talents so precisely qualified him to write the history 
of the great naval warrior. There were no fine riddles of 
the human heart to read ; no theories to propound ; no hidden 
causes to develop ; no consequences to predict. The char- 
acter of the hero lay on the surface ; the exploits were brilliant 
and picturesque. It would not be easy to find in all literary his- 
tory an incident of a more exact hit between wind and water." ^ 

It is to be remembered that Southey wrote his first sketch 
for the Quarterly Review only four years after the death of 
Nelson. The full biography, as it now stands, was written 
less than eight years after Trafalgar, and only two years before 
the downfall of Napoleon at Waterloo. 

England's favorite admiral had almost annihilated the naval 
power of her great enemy, but on land Napoleon still threat- 
ened the liberty of Europe. Fresh in the memory of every 
Englishman were the daring exploits and matchless victories of 
the frail little man who, before he was forty years of age, had 
"actually been engaged against the enemy upwards of 120 
times, in which service he had lost his right eye and his right 
arm, and had been severely wounded and bruised in his body." 

Written during such momentous and stirring times in the 
history of his country, it is not strange that Southey was able, 
by his masterly pen, to give his narrative a dramatic vividness 
and depth of interest found in few works of fiction. 

While Southey was master of a clear, vigorous English, he 
was none the less at times, in his controversial writings, prone 
to be influenced by strong prejudice and violent political 
partiality, and a somewhat haughty tone of arrogant self- 
confidence. Blemishes of this kind naturally would be expected, 
and do occur, in his " Life of Nelson." For instance, he hated 

^ Macaulay's Miscellaneous Works, Harper's edition, vol. i. p. 394. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

the French, and hence some of his statements are based more 
on a bitter prejudice against the national enemy than a calm 
estimate of facts. 

The search-light of history long ago revealed the fact that in 
the long and bitter European wars that followed the French 
Revolution, it was not the French alone who were '' distinguished 
for boastfulness, perfidy, and unscrupulous audacity." 

Again, Southey lived too near Nelson's time to form a calm 
and philosophical estimate of the character of his hero. He 
overlooks the weak points in Nelson's character, and condemns 
where it is not deserved. On the whole, however, it is gener- 
ally conceded that Southey's pen-picture of the great admiral is 
lifelike, vigorous, and for the most part accurate. He depended, 
for the most of his facts, upon Clarke and M'Arthur's "Life 
of Nelson." With his usual literary skill he rearranged 
the material of these two bulky volumes, but did not take 
the pains to eliminate errors or to furnish much additional 
information. 

Judged from a strictly historical point of view, Southey's 
little masterpiece has no great value. It is well to remember 
however, that it was never intended by its author for an elabo- 
rate biography, but was written to furnish young sailors with 
a simple narrative of the exploits of England's favorite naval 
warrior. As such, perhaps, it has never been equaled for the 
charm and the perfection of its style. The student is referred 
to such passages as the description of the blowing up of the 
Orient, of the advance of the English fleet into Aboukir Bay, 
and the noble peroration of the book, as signal illustrations of 
what a skillful writer can do in writing clear, graphic, and 
beautiful English. 

Southey was fortunate in the subject of his little biography. 
He was to write the life of a man whose remarkable exploits 
in the naval service of his country were unparalleled in their 
brilliancy and success. Information connected with the per- 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

sonal and professional career of this idol of the English navy 
has always been a subject of lively interest and proud exultation. 

Nelson was a man of remarkable genius. He possessed 
exactly those strong and those weak points of character which 
made him a popular hero while living, and have endeared his 
memory to mankind for nearly a century. 

Because his people were poor and the boy was sickly, his 
uncle, a captain in the navy, took compassion on the twelve- 
year-old stripling and took him to sea, " in the hope that a can- 
non-ball would knock off his head." A rifle bullet did put an 
untimely end to his life thirty-five years afterwards, but not 
until he had become England's greatest admiral, and had 
performed deeds in the service of his country with which all 
the world is familiar. With a fragile body, harassed by almost 
continual ill-health, or suffering most of his life from wounds, 
he showed what it is possible for a man of a fearless, intrepid, 
and ambitious spirit to accomplish. He early obtained by the 
most untiring energy and perseverance a mastery over the most 
minute details of his chosen profession. He always had the 
gift to inspire all under his command with an enthusiasm and 
determination to carry out his wishes. And as he was abso- 
lutely devoid of fear and a born fighter in those times when 
long and fierce combats both on land and on sea were the rule, 
and times of peace were rare, it may be well inferred that his 
men had their fill of hardship and glory. Nelson was an extra- 
ordinary man inspired to do great deeds from an unbounded 
ambition and an exalted idea of duty. 

The personal life of a man who has played a commanding 
part in the history of his country is always of paramount interest 
to his fellow-men. We are never tired of noting and hearing of 
comparatively trivial deeds and sayings of such men. Hence, 
we like to read in Southey's " Life " that after the " great-little 
man," as Nelson was sometimes called, had become respected 
and feared in the West Indies by his enemies, that a certain official 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

of high rank, in seeking a personal interview, at last found the 
dreaded captain under a dining-table in a frolic with a pretty 
three-year-old boy, and that this same boy afterwards became a 
naval officer, and saved his benefactor's life the night Nelson 
had his right arm shot off. 

Again, we like to learn, that the great admiral was cheer- 
ful and pleasant, and rarely appeared to have any weight on 
his mind ; that he did not use salt, as he believed it to be the 
'' sole cause of scurvy"; that he liked to eat his breakfast with 
several of his midshipmen. " He entered into their boyish 
jokes, and could be merry with the youngest." Not alone as a 
great naval warrior, able by his genius and fearlessness to carry 
out with wisdom and clear insight plans which led to victory, 
was Nelson preeminent, but equally wise and considerate was 
he in attending to those details of the daily life of his men 
which ensured their health and comfort. It does not disturb a 
people's admiration of their hero that Nelson " not infrequently 
displayed the unblushing and self-asserting vanity of a child, 
and with all a child's love of praise and a woman's love of 
flattery." He continues to be regarded as one of the great 
heroic figures of the world, in spite of the fact that his weak- 
nesses were as remarkable as were his natural gifts and his 
sterling qualities. 

If we would have faithful likenesses of those about us we 
must have them painted, as Cromwell wanted to be painted, 
"warts and all." In biography, as in portraiture, we must 
have light and shade. A common artist, whether he works 
with brush or pen, sees merely the outward form, and copies it. 
A man of genius looks deeper, and portrays the soul of the man 
as revealed by his features or actions. In the one we have 
a piece of neat waxwork ; in the other, the living man. Hence, 
our library shelves are crowded with the lives of the world's 
great and little men, but biographies truly great may be counted 
on the fingers. 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

Southey's " Nelson " is an entertaining and stimulating biog- 
raphy for young people to read. It cannot, of course, be 
compared with the more stately biographies, written for more 
mature mands, like Boswell's " Life of Dr. Johnson," or Lock- 
hart's " Life of Sir Walter Scott." 

It belongs rather to the class of biographies represented by 
Wirt's " Life of Patrick Henry." Such biographies serve a 
most useful purpose in shaping the lives of young men. 

It is a most wholesome thing for young students to learn 
that throughout Nelson's career a high sense of duty was 
always uppermost in his mind and directed all the public acts 
of his life. This dominant idea culminated and was exempli- 
fied in the famous signal to the fleet before going into action 
at Trafalgar, — "England expects every man will do his duty"; 
as well as in the last words of the dying hero, — "I have done 
my duty and I praise God for it." The old Saxon idea of a 
resolute devotion to duty, whether in the great or little acts of 
life, never had a more striking exemplar than in the story of 
Nelson's life. To this abiding sense of duty, which was the 
very crown of Nelson's character, were added other sterling 
traits admirably set forth by Mr. Southey, — such as inflexi- 
bility of purpose, courage of convictions and fearlessness of 
personal danger, which enabled him to dare and to do great 
things in the face of apparently insurmountable obstacles. 

Some one has said that the great lesson of biography is to 
teach what man can be and can do at his best. This lesson 
has been most emphatically impressed upon the minds of 
hundreds of young readers by the simple and charming style 
of Southey's brief biography of Lord Nelson. 

The chief authorities for Nelson's professional life are 
Nicolas's "Dispatches and Letters," above 3500 in all (7 
vols., 1846), and James's " Naval History " from 1793 (6 vols.), 
the standard authority for all the naval actions of that time. 
For his private life the best authority is the " Hamilton- 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

Nelson Papers" (2 vols., 1894), privately printed from Mr. 
Alfred Morrison's collection of original manuscripts. Mr. J. 
C. Jeaffreson had access to these manuscripts in his " Lady 
Hamilton and Lord Nelson" (2 vols., 1888), and "The Queen 
of Naples and Lord Nelson" (2 vols., 1889). Clarke and 
M'Arthur's " Life of Nelson "(2 vols., 1808) was long the basis 
of later lives of the great admiral, but it is to be read with 
great caution in the light of quite recent researches. Harri- 
son's *' Life " (2 vols., 1806) was written to the order of Lady 
Hamilton, in order to sustain her claims for help from the 
British government. "It is not too much to say," says 
Mr. Laughton in his recent " Life," " that Harrison's book is *a 
pack of lies,' and that no one statement in it can be accepted 
unless it is independently confirmed from other sources." 
Dr. Pettigrew's " Memoirs of the Life " (2 vols., 1849) is consid- 
ered a strong and well-written book on Nelson's career. There 
are several other biographies of Nelson which are not worthy 
of mention even by name. 

For a most readable biography of Nelson the young student 
is advised to read " Horatio Nelson and the Naval Supremacy 
of England," by W. Clark Russell, the well-known writer of 
sea stories, and published in 1890 in the " Heroes of Nations 
Series " ; and " Nelson," a brief but charming biography by 
J. K. Laughton, published in 1895 in the "English Men of 
Action Series." 

In this edition of Southey's " Nelson," which is more especially 

intended for school and home use, certain sections here and 

there have been omitted. These consist of passages giving 

full details of events which have lost their interest for the 

readers of to-day, or of those which do not concern Nelson's 

public life. No alterations have been made in the wording, 

and the succeeding text stands as originally written with the 

exceptions just mentioned. 

A, F, Blaisdell. 



SOUTHEY'S LIFE OF NELSON. 



-0-0>gKjCK>- 



CHAPTER I. 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 



HORATIO, son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, was 
born September 29, 1758, in the parsonage house of 
Burnham Thorpe, a village in the county of Norfolk, of which 
his father was rector. The maiden name of his mother was 
Suckling : her grandmother was an elder sister of Sir Robert 
Walpole,^ and this child was named after his godfather, the 
first Lord Walpole.^ Mrs. Nelson died in 1767, leaving eight 
out of eleven children. Her brother. Captain Maurice Suck- 
ling, of the navy, visited the widower upon this event, and 
promised to take care of one of the boys. Three years after- 
wards, when Horatio was only twelve years of age, being at 
home during the Christmas holidays, he read in the county 
newspaper that his uncle was appointed to the Raison7iable, of 
sixty-four guns. '' Do, William," said he to a brother who was 
a year and a half older than himself, " write to my father, and 
tell him that I should like to go to sea with uncle Maurice." 
Mr. Nelson was then at Bath, whither he had gone for the 

1 Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745). — The celebrated Whig statesman 
who flourished in the reigns of George I. and George II. He was the 
subject of one of Macaulay's essays. 

2 The First Lord Walpole. — Died in 1757. Probably Sou they refers 
to Horatio, the second Lord Walpole. 



2 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

recovery of his health ; his circumstances were straitened, and 
he had no prospect of ever seeing them bettered ; he knew that 
it was the wish of providing for himself by which Horatio was 
chiefly actuated ; and did not oppose his resolution ; he under- 
stood also the boy's character, and had always said, that in 
whatever station he might be placed, he would climb, if 
possible, to the very top of the tree. Accordingly, Captain 
Suckling was written to. " What," said he in his answer, 
" has poor Horatio done, who is so weak, that he above all the 
rest should be sent to rough it out at sea ? But let him come, 
and the first time we go into action, a cannon-ball may knock 
off his head, and provide for him at once." 

It is manifest from these words that Horatio was not the 
boy whom his uncle would have chosen to bring up in his own 
profession. He was never of a strong body, and the ague, 
which at that time was one of the most common diseases in 
England, had greatly reduced his strength ; yet he had already 
given proofs of that resolute heart and nobleness of mind, 
which, during his whole career of labor and of glory, so 
eminently distinguished him. When a mere child he strayed 
a-bird's-nesting from his grandmother's house in company with 
a cow-boy : the dinner hour elapsed ; he was absent, and could 
not be found ; and the alarm of the family became very great, 
for they apprehended that he might have been carried off by 
gypsies. At length, after search had been made for him in 
various directions, he was discovered, alone, sitting composedly 
by the side of a brook which he could not get over. " I won- 
der, child," said the old lady when she saw him, " that hunger 
and fear did not drive you home." " Fear ! grandmamma," 
replied the future hero, " I never saw fear : what is it ? " ^ 
Once, after the winter holidays, when he and his brother 
William had set off on horseback to return to school, they came 

1 According to Clarke and M'Arthur's Life, Nelson's reply was, " Fear 
never came near me, grandmamma." 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 3 

back because there had been a fall of snow ; and William, 
who did not much like the journey, said it was too deep for 
them to venture on. "If that be the case," said the father, 
" you certainly shall not go ; but make another attempt, and I 
will leave it to your honor. If the road is dangerous, you may 
return ; but remember, boys, I leave it to your honor." The 
snow was deep enough to have afforded them a reasonable 
excuse ; but Horatio was not to be prevailed upon to turn back. 
"We must go on," said he : "remember, brother, it was left to 
our honor ! " There were some fine pears growing in the 
schoolmaster's garden, which the boys regarded as lawful 
booty, and in the highest degree tempting ; but the boldest 
among them were afraid to venture for the prize. Horatio 
volunteered upon this service : he was lowered down at night 
from the bedroom window by some sheets, plundered the tree, 
was drawn up with the pears, and then distributed them 
among his schoolfellows without reserving any for himself. 
He only took them, he said, " because every other boy was 
afraid." 

Early on a cold and dark spring morning Mr. Nelson's 
servant arrived at this school, at North Walsham, with the 
expected summons for Horatio to join his ship. The parting 
from his brother William, who had been for so many years his 
playmate and bedfellow, was a painful effort, and was the 
beginning of those privations which are the sailor's lot through 
life. He accompanied his father to London. The Raison7iable 
was lying in the Medway. He was put into the Chatham 
stage, and on its arrival was set down with the rest of the 
passengers, and left to find his way on board as he could. 
After wandering about in the cold without being able to reach 
the ship, an officer observed the forlorn appearance of the 
boy, questioned him, and happening to be acquainted with his 
uncle, took him home and gave him some refreshments. When 
he got on board, Captain Suckling was not in the ship, nor 



4 ' SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

had any person been apprised of the boy's coming. He paced 
the deck the whole remainder of the day without being noticed 
by any one ; and it was not till the second day that somebody, 
as he expressed it, " took compassion on him." 

The pain which is felt when we are first transplanted from 
our native soil, when the living branch is cut from the parent 
tree, is one of the most poignant which we have to endure 
through life. There are after griefs which wound more deeply, 
which leave behind them scars never to be effaced, which 
bruise the spirit and sometimes break the heart ; but never 
do we feel so keenly the want of love, the necessity of being 
loved, and the sense of utter desertion, as when we first leave 
the haven of home, and are, as it were, pushed off upon the 
stream of life. Added to these feelings, the sea-boy has to 
endure physical hardships, and the privation of every comfort, 
even of sleep. Nelson had a feeble body and an affectionate 
heart, and he remembered through life his first days of 
wretchedness in the service. 

The Raisonnable having been commissioned on account of 
the dispute respecting the Falkland Islands,-^ was paid off as 
soon as the difference with the Court of Spain was accommo- 
dated, and Captain Suckling was removed to the Triumph^ 
seventy-four, then stationed as a guardship in the Thames. 
This was considered as too inactive a life for a boy, and 
Nelson was therefore sent a voyage to the West Indies in a 
merchant ship commanded by Mr. John Rathbone, an excel- 
lent seaman, who had served as master's mate under Captain 
Suckling in the Dreadnought. He returned a practical seaman, 
but with a hatred of the King's service, and a saying then 
common among the sailors, " Aft the most honor ; forward 
the better man." Rathbone had probably been disappointed 

^ Falkland Islands. — Two dreary, inhospitable islands situated in the 
Southern Atlantic ocean, a dispute about which, at this time, had nearly 
aroused England to declare war against Spain. 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 5 

and disgusted in the navy ; and, with no unfriendly intentions, 
warned Nelson against a profession which he himself had 
found hopeless. His uncle received him on board the Triumph 
on his return, and discovering his dislike to the navy, took the 
best means of reconciling him to it. He held it out as a 
reward, that if he attended well to his navigation, he should go 
in the cutter and decked long-boat, which was attached to the 
commanding officer's ship at Chatham. Thus he became a 
good pilot for vessels of that description from Chatham to the 
Tower, and down the Swin Channel ^ to the North Foreland, 
and acquired a confidence among rocks and sands of which he 
often felt the value. 

Nelson had not been many months on board the Triumph 
when his love of enterprise was excited by hearing that two 
ships were fitting out for a voyage of discovery towards the 
North Pole. In consequence of the difficulties which were 
expected on such a service, these vessels were to take out 
effective men instead of the usual number of boys. This, 
however, did not deter him from soliciting to be received, and 
by his uncle's interest he was admitted as coxswain under 
Captain Lutwidge, second in command. The voyage was 
undertaken in compliance with an application from the Royal 
Society.^ The Hon. Captain Constantine John Phipps, eldest 
son of Lord Mulgrave, volunteered his services. The Racehorse 
and C(^/'^<2J-j- bombs were selected, as the. strongest ships, and 
therefore best adapted for such a voyage ; and they were 
taken into dock and strengthened, to render them as secure as 

1 Swin Channel. — An important channel at the mouth of the river 
Thames. Nelson's own words were : " Thus by degrees I becanle a good 
pilot, for vessels of that description, from Chatham to the Tower of 
London, down the Swin, and to the North Foreland, and confident of 
myself amongst rocks and sands, which has many times since been of the 
greatest comfort to me." — Sketch of my Life. 

2 Royal Society. — The famous society incorporated by King Charles 
the Second. One of the most renowned learned societies in the world. 



6 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

possible against the ice. Two masters of Greenlandmen were 
employed as pilots for each ship. 

No expedition was ever more carefully fitted out ; and the 
First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Sandwich, with a laudable 
solicitude, went on board himself before their departure to see 
that everything had been completed to the wish of the officers. 
The ships were provided with a simple and excellent apparatus 
for distilling fresh from salt water, the invention of Dr. Irving, 
who accompanied the expedition. It consisted merely of 
fitting a tube to the ship's kettle, and applying a wet mop to 
the surface, as the vapor was passing. By these means, from 
thirty-four to forty gallons were produced every day. 

They sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June ; on the 6th 
of the following month they were in latitude 79° 56' 39", 
longitude 9° 43' 30" E. The next day, about the place where 
most of the old discoverers had been stopped, the Racehorse 
was beset with ice ; but they hove her through with ice- 
anchors. Captain Phipps continued ranging along the ice, 
northward and westward, till the 24th ; he then tried to the 
eastward. On the 30th he was in latitude 80° 13', longitude 
18° 48' E., among the islands and in the ice, with no appearance 
of an opening for the ships. The weather was exceedingly 
fine, mild, and unusually clear. Here they were becalmed in 
a large bay, with three apparent openings between the islands 
which formed it ; but everywhere, as far as they could see, 
surrounded with ice. There was not a breath of air, the water 
was perfectly smooth, the ice covered with snow, low and even, 
except a few broken pieces near the edge ; and the pools of 
water in the middle of the ice-fields just crusted over with 
young ice. On the next day the ice closed upon them, and no 
opening was to be seen anywhere, except a hole or lake, as it 
might be called, of about a mile and a half in circumference, 
where the ships lay fast to the ice with their ice-anchors. 
They filled their casks with water from these ice-fields, which 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. / 

was very pure and soft. The men were playing on the ice all 
day ; but the Greenland pilots, who were farther than they 
had ever been before, and considered that the season was far 
advancing, were alarmed at being thus beset. 

The next day there was not the smallest opening ; the ships 
were within less than two lengths of each other, separated by 
ice, and neither having room to turn. The ice, which the day 
before had been flat and almost level with the water's edge, 
was now in many places forced higher than the mainyard, by 
the pieces squeezing together. A day of thick fog followed ; it 
was succeeded by clear weather, but the passage by which the 
ships had entered from the westward was closed, and no open 
water was in sight, either in that or any other quarter. By 
the pilots' advice the men were set to cut a passage, and warp 
through the small openings to the westward. They sawed 
through pieces of ice twelve feet thick ; and this labor con- 
tinued the whole day, during which their utmost efforts did 
not move the ships above three hundred yards ; while they 
were driven, together with the ice, far to the N. E. and E. by 
the current. Sometimes a field of several acres square would 
be lifted up between two larger islands, and incorporated with 
them ; and thus these larger pieces continued to grow by aggre- 
gation. Another day passed, and there seemed no probability 
of getting the ships out without a strong E. or N. E. wind. 
The season was far advanced, and every hour lessened the 
chance of extricating themselves. 

Young as he was, Nelson was appointed to command one of 
the boats which were sent out to explore a passage into the 
open water. It was the means of saving a boat belonging to 
the Racehorse from a singular but imminent danger. Some of 
the officers had fired at and wounded a walrus. As no other 
animal has so human-like an expression in its countenance, so 
also is there none that seems to possess more of the passions 
of humanity. The wounded animal dived immediately, and 



8 southey's life of nelson. 

brought up a number of its companions, and they all joined in 
an attack upon the boat. They wrested an oar from one of 
the men ; and it was with the utmost difficulty that the crew 
could prevent them from staving or upsetting her, till the 
Carcasses boat came up ; and the walruses, finding their enemies 
thus reinforced, dispersed. 

Young Nelson exposed himself in a more daring manner. 
One night, during the mid-watch, he stole from the ship with 
one of his comrades, taking advantage of a rising fog, and set 
out over the ice in pursuit of a bear. It was not long before 
they were missed. The fog thickened, and Captain Lutwidge 
and his officers became exceedingly alarmed for their safety. 
Between three and four in the morning the weather cleared, 
and the two adventurers were seen, at a considerable distance 
from the ship, attacking a huge bear. The signal for them to 
return was immediately made : Nelson's comrade called upon 
him to obey it, but in vain ; his musket had flashed in the 
pan ; their ammunition was expended ; and a chasm in the ice, 
which divided him from the bear, probably preserved his life. 
" Never mind," he cried ; " do but let me get a blow at him 
with the butt-end of my musket, and we shall have him." 
Captain Lutwidge, however, seeing his danger, fired a gun, 
which had the desired effect of frightening the beast ; and the 
boy then returned, somewhat afraid of the consequences of his 
trespass. The captain reprimanded him sternly for conduct so 
unworthy of the office which he filled, and desired to know 
what motive he could have for hunting a bear. " Sir," said he, 
pouting his lip, as he was wont to do when agitated, " I v^ished 
to kill the bear that I might carry the skin to my father." 

A party were now sent to an island, about twelve miles off 
(named Walden's Island in the chart, from the midshipman 
who was intrusted with this service), to see where the open 
water lay. They came back with information that the ice, 
though close all about them, was open to the westward, round 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 9 

the point by which they came in. They said also, that upon 
the island they had had a fresh east wind. This intelligence 
considerably abated the hopes of the crew ; for where they lay 
it had been almost calm, and their main dependence had been 
upon the effect of an easterly wind in clearing the bay. There 
was but one alternative, either to wait the event of the weather 
upon the ships, or to betake themselves to the boats. The 
likelihood that it might be necessary to sacrifice the ships had 
been foreseen; the boats, accordingly, were adapted, both in 
number and size, to transport, in case of emergency, the whole 
crew ; and there were Dutch whalers upon the coast, in which 
they could all be conveyed to Europe. As for wintering where 
they were, that dreadful experiment had been already tried too 
often. No time was to be lost; the ships had driven into 
shoal water, having but 14 fathoms. Should they, or the ice 
to which they were fast, take the ground, they must inevitably 
be lost ; and at this time they were driving fast towards some 
rocks on the N. E. Captain Phipps had sent for the officers of 
both ships, and told them his intention of preparing the boats 
for going away. They were immediately hoisted out, and the 
fitting began. Canvas bread-bags were made, in case it should 
be necessary suddenly to desert the vessels ; and men were 
sent with the lead and line to the northward and eastward, to 
sound wherever they found cracks in the ice, that they might 
have notice before the ice took the ground, for in that case the 
ships must have instantly been crushed or overset. 

On the 7 th of August they began to haul the boats over the 
ice, Nelson having command of the four-oared cutter. The 
men behaved excellently well, like true British seamen ; they 
seemed reconciled to the thought of leaving the ships, and had 
full confidence in their officers. About noon, the ice appeared 
rather more open near the vessels; and as the wind was easterly, 
though there was but little of it, the sails were set, and they 
got about a mile to the westward. They moved very slowly, 



lO SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

and they were not now nearly so far to the westward as when 
they were first beset. However, all sail was kept upon them, 
to force them through whenever the ice slacked the least. 
Whatever exertions were made, it could not be possible to get 
the boats to the water's edge before the 14th ; and if the situa- 
tion of the ships should not alter by that time, it would not be 
justifiable to stay longer by them. The commander therefore 
resolved to carry on both attempts together, moving the boats 
constantly, and taking every opportunity of getting the ships 
through. A party was sent out next day to the westward, to 
examine the state of the ice : they returned with tidings that 
it was very heavy and close, consisting chiefly of large fields. 
The ships, however, moved something, and the ice itself was 
drifting westward. There was a thick fog, so that it was 
impossible to ascertain what advantage had been gained. It 
continued on the 9th, but the ships were moved a little through 
some very small openings : the mist cleared off in the after- 
noon, and it was then perceived that they had driven much 
more than could have been expected to the westward, and that 
the ice itself had driven still farther. In the course of the day 
they got past the boats, and took them on board again. On the 
morrow the wind sprang up to the N. N. E. All sail was set, 
and the ships forced their way through a great deal of very 
heavy ice. They frequently struck, and with such force that 
one stroke broke the shank of the Racehorse'' s best bower 
anchor ; but the vessels made way, and by noon they had 
cleared the ice and were out at sea. The next day they 
anchored in Smeerenberg harbor, close to that island of which 
the westernmost point is called Hakluyt's ^ Headland, in honor 
of the great promoter and compiler of our English voyages of 
discovery. 

1 Richard Hakluyt (i 553-1616). — Famous for his contribution to the 
literature of travels and voyages commonly known as " Hakluyt's Voyages." 
This quaint work contains much valuable matter pertaining to the early 
settlement of North America. 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. II 

Here they remained for a few days, that the men might rest 
after their fatigue. No insect was to be seen in this dreary 
country, nor any species of reptile, not even the common earth- 
worm. Large bodies of ice, called icebergs, filled up the valleys 
between high mountains — so dark as, when contrasted with the 
snow, to appear black. The color of the ice was a lively light 
green. Opposite to the place where they had fixed their 
observatory was one of these icebergs, above three hundred 
feet high : its side towards the sea was nearly perpendicular, 
and a stream of water issued from it. Large pieces frequently 
broke off, and rolled down into the sea. There was no thunder 
nor lightning during the whole time they were in these latitudes. 
The sky was generally loaded with hard white clouds, from 
which it was never entirely free, even in the clearest weather. 
They always knew when they were approaching the ice long 
before they saw it, by a bright appearance near the horizon, 
which the Greenlandmen called the blink of the ice. The 
season was now so far advanced that nothing more could have 
been attempted, if indeed anything had been left untried ; but 
the summer had been unusually favorable, and they had care- 
fully surveyed the wall of ice extending for more than twenty 
degrees between the latitudes of 80° and 81°, without the 
smallest appearance of any opening. 

The ships were paid off shortly after their return to Eng- 
land ; and Nelson was then placed by his uncle with Captain 
Farmer, in the Seahorse, of twenty guns, then going out to the 
East Indies in the squadron under Sir Edward Hughes. He 
was stationed in the foretop at watch and watch. His good 
conduct attracted the attention of the master (afterwards Cap- 
tain Surridge), in whose watch he was, and upon his recom- 
mendation the captain rated him as midshipman. At this 
time his countenance was florid, and his appearance rather 
stout and athletic ; but when he had been about eighteen 
months in India he felt the effects of that climate, so perilous 



12 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

to European constitutions. The disease baffled all power of 
medicine ; he was reduced almost to a skeleton ; the use of his 
limbs was for some time entirely lost ; and the only hope that 
remained was from a voyage home. Accordingly he was 
brought home by Captain Pigot, in the Dolphiji, and had it 
not been for the attentive and careful kindness of that officer 
on the way, Nelson would never have lived to reach his native 
shores. Long afterwards, when the name of Nelson was known 
as widely as that of England itself, he spoke of the feelings 
which he at this time endured. " I felt impressed," said he, 
" with a feeling that I should never rise in my profession. My 
mind was staggered with a view of the difficulties I had to sur- 
mount, and the little interest I possessed. I could discover no 
means of reaching the object of my ambition. After a long 
and gloomy reverie, in which I almost wished myself overboard, 
a sudden glow of patriotism was kindled within me, and pre- 
sented my King and country as my patron. ^Well, then,' I 
exclaimed, ' I will be a hero, and, confiding in Providence, 
brave every danger ! ' " 

Long afterwards Nelson loved to speak of the feeling of that 
moment ; and from that time, he often said, a radiant orb was 
suspended in his mind's eye, which urged him onward to re- 
nown. The state of mind in which these feelings began is 
what the mystics mean by their season of darkness and deser- 
tion. If the animal spirits fail, they represent it as an actual 
temptation. The enthusiasm of Nelson's nature had taken a 
different direction, but its essence was the same. He knew 
to what the previous state of dejection was to be attributed ; 
that an enfeebled body and a mind depressed had cast this shade 
over his soul ; but he always seemed willing to believe that the 
sunshine which succeeded bore with it a prophetic glory, and 
that the light which led him on was " light from heaven." ^ 

1 " This resolution to do, begotten in a moment of wretchedness, became 
the noble, animating, enduring impulse of his glorious mind. It never 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 1 3 

His interest, however, was far better than he imagined. 
During his absence Captain Suckling had been made Comp- 
troller of the Navy ; his health had materially improved upon 
the voyage ; and as soon as the Dolphin was paid off he was 
appointed acting-lieutenant in the Worcester^ sixty-four. Captain 
Mark Robinson, then going out with convoy to Gibraltar. 
Soon after his return, on the 8th of April, 1777, he passed his 
examination for a lieutenancy. Captain Suckling sat at the 
head of the board, and when the examination had ended, in a 
manner highly honorable to Nelson, rose from his seat, and 
introduced him to the examining captains as his nephew. They 
expressed their wonder that he had not informed them of this 
relationship before ; he replied that he did not wish the 
younker to be favored ; he knew his nephew would pass a 
good examination, and he had not been deceived. The next 
day Nelson received his commission as second lieutenant of the 
Lowestoffe frigate, Captain William Locker, then fitting out for 
Jamaica. 

About this time he lost his uncle. Captain Locker, how- 
ever, who had perceived the excellent qualities of Nelson, and 
formed a friendship for him, which continued during his life, 
recommended him warmly to Sir Peter Parker, then com- 
mander-in-chief upon that station. In consequence of this 
recommendation he was removed into the Bristol flag-ship, 
and Lieutenant Cuthbert Collingwood succeeded him in the 
Lowestoj^e. He soon became first lieutenant ; and on the 8th 
of December, 1778, was appointed commander of the Badger 
brig, Collingwood again succeeding him in the Bristol. While 
the Badger was lying in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Glasgow^ 
of twenty guns, came in and anchored there, and in two hours 

failed him. It was an ever-growing passion. Nay, to his fervid imagina- 
tion it seemed a thing embodied, indeed; for he would often declare to his 
friend Hardy, that from that hour there was suspended before his mind's 
eye a radiant orb that courted him onward to renown." 



14 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

was in flames, the steward having set fire to her while stealing 
rum out of the after-hold. Her crew were leaping into the 
water, when Nelson came up in his boats, made them throw 
their powder overboard and point their guns upward, and by 
his presence of mind and personal exertions prevented the loss 
of life which would otherwise have ensued. On the nth of 
June, 1779, he was made post ^ into the Ilinchinbrook, of twenty- 
eight guns, an enemy's merchantman, sheathed with wood, 
which had been taken into the service. 

A short time after he left the Lowestoffe^ that ship, with a 
small squadron, stormed the fort of St. Fernando de Omoa, on 
the south side of the Bay of Honduras, and captured some 
register ships which were lying under its guns. Two hundred 
and fifty quintals ^ of quicksilver and three millions of piastres ^ 
were the reward of this enterprise ; and it is characteristic of 
Nelson that the chance by which he missed a share in such a 
prize is never mentioned in any of his letters, nor is it likely 
that it ever excited even a momentary feeling of vexation. 

Nelson was fortunate in possessing good interest at the time 
when it could be most serviceable to him : his promotion had 
been almost as rapid as it could be, and before he had attained 
the age of twenty-one he had gained that rank which brought 
all the honors of the service within his reach. No oppor- 
tunity, indeed, had yet been given him of distinguishing him- 
self ; but he was thoroughly master of his profession, and his 
zeal and ability were acknowledged wherever he was known. 
Count d'Estaing, with a fleet of one hundred and twenty-five 
sail, men-of-war and transports, and a reputed force of five-and- 
twenty thousand men, threatened Jamaica from St. Domingo. 
Nelson offered his services to the Admiral and to Governor- 

1 Made post. — That is, a post-captain, — a full captain. Commanders 
were often called captains by courtesy. 

2 Quintal. — A hundredweight. 

^ Piastre. — A Spanish coin worth about a dollar. 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. I 5 

General Bailing, and was appointed to command the batteries 
of Fort Charles at Port Royal. Not more than seven thousand 
men could be mustered for the defense of the island — a number 
wholly inadequate to resist the force which threatened them. 
Of this Nelson was so well aware, that when he wrote to his 
friends in England he told them they must not be surprised to 
hear of his learning to speak French. D'Estaing, however, 
was either not aware of his own superiority, or not equal to 
the command with which he was intrusted : he attempted 
nothing with this formidable armament, and General Dalling 
was thus left to execute a project which he had formed against 
the Spanish colonies. 

This project was to take Fort San Juan, on the river of that 
name, which flows from Lake Nicaragua into the Atlantic ; 
make himself master of the lake itself and of the cities of 
Grenada and Leon, and thus cut off the communication of the 
Spaniards between their northern and southern possessions in 
America. Here it is that a canal ^ between the two seas may 
most easily be formed — a work more important in its conse- 
quences than any which has ever yet been effected by human 
power. Lord George Germaine, at that time Secretary of State 
for the American Department, approved the plan ; and as dis- 
contents at that time were known to prevail in the Nuevo 
Reyno, in Popayan, and in Peru, the more sanguine part of the 
English began to dream of acquiring an empire in one part of 
America more extensive than that which they were on the 
point of losing in another. General Balling's plans were well 
formed, but the history and the nature of the country had not 
been studied as accurately as its geography : the difficulties 
which occurred in fitting out the expedition delayed it till the 

^ A Canal. — In the light of what is here written by Southey, the student 
will be pleased to recall what has been done in recent years towards carry- 
ing out this old-time and favorite scheme for connecting the Atlantic and 
Pacific oceans. 



1 6 southey's life of nelson. 

season was too far advanced, and the men were thus sent to 
adventure themselves, not so much against an enemy, whom 
they would have beaten, as against a climate, which would do 
the enemy's work. 

Early in the year 1780 five hundred men, destined for this 
service, were convoyed by Nelson from Port Royal to Cape 
Gracias a Dios, in Honduras. Not a native was to be seen 
when they landed: they had been taught that the English came 
with no other intent than that of enslaving them, and sending 
them to Jamaica. After awhile, however, one of them ven- 
tured down, confiding in his knowledge of one of the party ; 
and by his means the neighboring tribes were conciliated with 
presents and brought in. The troops were encamped on a 
swampy and unwholesome plain, where they were joined by a 
party of the 79 th regiment from Black River, who were already 
in a deplorable state of sickness. Having remained here a 
month, they proceeded, anchoring frequently, along the Mos- 
quito shore, to collect their Indian allies, who were to furnish 
proper boats for the river, and to accompany them. They 
reached the River San Juan March 24, and here, according to 
his orders, Nelson's services were to terminate ; but not a man 
in the expedition had ever been up the river or knew the dis- 
tance of any fortification from its mouth, and he, not being one 
who would turn back when so much was to be done, resolved 
to carry the soldiers up. About two hundred, therefore, were 
embarked in the Mosquito shore craft and in two of the Hin- 
chindrook^s boats, and they began their voyage. It was the 
latter end of the dry season, the worst time for such an ex- 
pedition ; the river was consequently low. Indians were sent 
forward through narrow channels between shoals and banks, 
and the men were frequently obliged to quit the boats, and 
exert their utmost strength to drag or thrust them along. This 
labor continued for several days, when they came into deeper 
water ; they had then currents and rapids to contend with, 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 1/ 

which would have been insurmountable but for the skill of the 
Indians in such difficulties. The brunt of the labor was borne 
by them and by the sailors — men never accustomed to stand 
aloof when any exertion of strength or hardihood is required. 
The soldiers, less accustomed to rely upon themselves, were of 
little use. But all equally endured the violent heat of the sun, 
rendered more intense by being reflected from the white shoals, 
while the high woods on both sides of the river were fre- 
quently so close as to prevent all refreshing circulation of air ; 
and during the night all were equally exposed to the heavy 
and unwholesome dews. 

On the 9th of April they reached an island in the river called 
San Bartolomeo, which the Spaniards had fortified as an out- 
post with a small semicircular battery, mounting nine or ten 
swivels and manned with sixteen or eighteen men. It com- 
manded the river in a rapid and difficult part of the navigation. 
Nelson, at the head of a few of his seamen, leaped upon the 
beach. The ground upon which he sprang was so muddy that 
he had some difficulty in extricating himself, and lost his shoes ; 
barefooted, however, he advanced, and in his own phrase, 
boarded the battery. In this resolute attempt he was bravely 
supported by the well-known Despard,^ at that time a captain 
in the army. The castle of San Juan is situated about sixteen 
miles higher up ; the stores and ammunition, however, were 
landed a few miles below the castle, and the men had to march 
through woods almost impassable. 

One of the men was bitten under the eye by a snake, which 
darted upon him from the bough of a tree. He was unable to 

1 Despard. — In the year 1803 this brave but ill-fated man conspired 
with a party of soldiers, at a house in Oakley Street, Lambeth, to assassi- 
nate King George III. on his way to open Parliament. Being arrested and 
brought to trial, he was executed at Horsemonger Lane jail. Several 
Honduras merchants, to whom Despard was personally known, since his 
untimely death have positively asserted that his insanity was indisputable. 
— Clarke and M'Arthur's Life of Nelson. 



1 8 southey's life of nelson. 

proceed from the violence of the pain, and when, after a short 
while, some of his comrades were sent back to assist him, he was 
dead, and the body already putrid. Nelson himself narrowly 
escaped a similar fate. He had ordered his hammock to be 
slung under some trees, being excessively fatigued, and was 
sleeping, when a monitory lizard passed across his face. The 
Indians happily observed the reptile, and knowing what it 
indicated, awoke him. He started up, and found one of the 
deadliest serpents of the country coiled up at his feet. He 
suffered from poison of another kind ; for, drinking at a spring 
in which some boughs of the manchineel ^ had been thrown, the 
effects were so severe as, in the opinion of some of his friends, 
to inflict a lasting injury upon his constitution. 

The castle of San Juan is thirty- two miles below the Lake 
of Nicaragua, from which the river issues, and sixty-nine from 
its mouth. Boats reach the sea from thence in a day and 
a half; but their navigation back, even when unladen, is the 
labor of nine days. The English appeared before it on the 
nth, two days after they had taken San Bartolomeo. Nelson's 
advice was, that it should instantly be carried by assault : but 
Nelson was not the commander, and it was thought proper to 
observe all the formalities of a siege. Ten days were wasted 
before this could be commenced : it was a work more of fatigue 
than of danger, but fatigue was more to be dreaded than the 
enemy. The rains set in, and could the garrison have held out 
a little longer, disease would have rid them of their invaders. 
Even the Indians sunk under it, the victims of unusual exertion 
and of their own excesses. The place surrendered on the 24th ; 
but victory procured to the conquerors none of that relief 

^ Manchineel. — A West Indian tree and regarded as the most poisonous 
of all known vegetable productions. The whole plant abounds in a milky 
juice of a venomous nature ; dropped on the skin it produces a sensation of 
severe burning, followed by a blister, and the fruit when bitten causes 
dangerous inflammation of the mouth. 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 1 9 

which had been expected. The castle was worse than a prison, 
and it contained nothing which could contribute to the recovery 
of the sick or the preservation of those who were yet unaffected. 
The huts, which served for hospitals, were surrounded with 
filth and with the putrefying hides of slaughtered cattle — almost 
sufficient of themselves to have engendered pestilence ; and 
when at last orders were given to erect a convenient hospital, 
the contagion had become so general that there were none who 
could work at it ; for, besides the few who were able to perform 
garrison duty, there were not orderly men enough to assist the 
sick. Added to these evils there was the want of all needful 
remedies, for though the expedition had been amply provided 
with hospital stores, river craft enough had not been procured 
for transporting the requisite baggage ; and when much was to 
be left behind, provision for sickness was that which of all 
things men in health would be most ready to leave.- Now, 
when these medicines were required, the river was swollen, 
and so turbulent that its upward navigation w^as almost imprac- 
ticable. At length even the task of burying the dead was 
more than the living could perform, and the bodies were tossed 
into the stream, or left for beasts of prey, and for the gallinazos, 
those dreadful carrion-birds ^ which do not always wait for 
death before they begin their work. Five months the English 
persisted in what may be called this war against nature ; they 
then left a few men, who seemed proof against the climate, to 
retain the castle till the Spaniards should choose to retake it 
and make them prisoners. The rest abandoned their baleful 
conquest. Eighteen hundred men were sent to different posts 
upon this wretched expedition : not more than three hundred 
and eighty ever returned. The ffinckmbrook^ s complement 
consisted of two hundred men ; eighty-seven took to their 
beds in one night, and of the whole crew not more than ten 
survived. 

^ Carrion-birds. — The South American vultures, known as the gallinazos. 



20 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Nelson himself was saved by a timely removal. In a few 
days after the commencement of the siege he was seized with 
the prevailing dysentery ; meantime Captain Glover died, and 
Nelson was appointed to succeed him in the Janus, of forty-four 
guns. He returned to the harbor the day before San Juan 
surrendered, and immediately sailed for Jamaica in the sloop 
which brought the news of his appointment. He was, however, 
so greatly reduced by the disorder, that when they reached 
Port Royal he was carried ashore in his cot ; and finding him- 
self, after a partial amendment, unable to retain the command 
of his new ship, he was compelled to ask leave to return to 
England, as the only means of recovery. Captain (afterwards 
Admiral) Cornwallis took him home in the Lio7i ; and to his 
care and kindness Nelson believed himself indebted for his life. 
He went immediately to Bath, in a miserable state ; so helpless, 
that he was carried to and from his bed, and the act of moving 
him produced the most violent pain. In three months he recov- 
ered, and immediately hastened to London and applied for 
employment. After an interval of about four months he was 
appointed to the Albemarle, of twenty-eight guns, a French 
merchantman which had been purchased from the captors for 
the King's service. 

His health was not yet thoroughly re-established, and while 
he was employed in getting his ship ready he again became so 
ill as hardly to be able to keep out of bed. Yet in this state, 
still suffering from the fatal effect of a West Indian climate, as 
if — it might almost be supposed, he said — to try his constitu- 
tion, he was sent to the North Seas, and kept there the whole 
winter. The asperity with which he mentioned this so many 
years after, evinces how deeply he resented a mode of conduct 
equally cruel to the individual and detrimental to the service. 
It was during the armed neutrality ; ^ and when they anchored 

^ Armed Neutrality. — A confederacy of the Northern powers, Russia, 
Sweden, and Denmark, established to defend the principle that no mer- 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 21 

off Elsinore, the Danish admiral sent on board, desiring to be 
informed what ships had arrived, and to have their force 
written down. " The Albemarle,''^ said Nelson to the messenger, 
'' is one of his Britannic Majesty's ships ; you are at liberty, sir, 
to count the guns as you go down the side, and you may assure 
the Danish admiral that, if necessary, they shall all be well 
served." During this voyage he gained a considerable knowl- 
edge of the Danish coast and its soundings, greatly to the 
advantage of his country in after times. The Albemarle was 
not a good ship, and was several times nearly overset, in con- 
sequence of the masts having been made much too long for 
her. On her return to England they were shortened, and 
some other improvements made, at Nelson's suggestion. Still 
he always insisted that her first owners, the French, had taught 
her to run away, as she was never a good sailer except when 
going directly before the wind. 

On their return to the Downs, while he was ashore visiting 
the senior officer, there came on so heavy a gale that almost all 
the vessels drove, and a store-ship came athwart-hawse of the 
Albemarle. Nelson feared she would drive on the Goodwin 
Sands ; ^ he ran to the beach, but even the Deal boatmen 
thought it impossible to get on board, such was the violence of 
the storm. At length some of the most intrepid offered to 
make the attempt for fifteen guineas, and, to the astonishment 
and fear of the beholders, Nelson embarked during the height 
of the tempest. With great difficulty and imminent danger he 
succeeded in reaching her. She lost her bowsprit and fore- 
mast, but escaped further injury. He was now ordered to 
Quebec, where, his surgeon told him, he would certainly be 

chandise in neutral ships should be liable to capture by vessels belonging to 
nations at war with each other. 

^ Goodwin Sands. — A series of dangerous sandbars along the coast of 
Kent. The student will recall the reference to them in " The Merchaiit 
of Venice." 



22 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

laid up by the climate. Many of his friends urged him to 
represent this to Admiral Keppel ; but having received his 
orders from Lord Sandwich, there appeared to him an indeli- 
cacy in applying to his successor to have them altered. 

Accordingly he sailed for Canada. During her first cruise 
on that station the Albemarle captured a fishing schooner, which 
contained in her cargo nearly all the property that her master 
possessed, and the poor fellow had a large family at home 
anxiously expecting him. Nelson employed him as a pilot in 
Boston Bay, then restored him the schooner and cargo, and 
gave him a certificate to secure him against being captured by 
any other vessel. The man came off afterwards to the Albe- 
marle, at the hazard of his life, with a present of sheep, poultry, 
and fresh provisions. A most valuable supply it proved, for 
the scurvy was raging on board: this was in the middle of 
August, and the ship's company had not had a fresh meal since 
the beginning of April. The certificate was preserved at 
Boston in memory of an act of unusual generosity ; and now 
that the fame of Nelson has given interest to everything con- 
nected with his name, it is regarded as a relic. 

The Albe7narle was under orders to convey a fleet of trans- 
ports to New York. "A very pretty job," said her captain, 
" at this late season of the year " (October was far advanced), 
"for our sails are at this moment frozen to the yards." On 
his arrival at Sandy Hook he waited on the commander-in- 
chief. Admiral Digby, who told him he was come on a fine 
station for making prize-money. " Yes, sir," Nelson made 
answer; "but the West Indies is the station for honor." 
Lord Hood, with a detachment of Rodney's victorious fleet, 
was at that time in Sandy Hook : he had been intimate with 
Captain Suckling, and Nelson, who was desirous of nothing 
but honor, requested him to ask for the Albe7narle, that he 
might go to that station where it was most likely to be obtained. 
Admiral Digby reluctantly parted with him. 



FIRST YEARS AT SEA. 23 

His professional merit was already well known; and Lord 
Hood, on introducing him to Prince William Henry,^ as the 
Duke of Clarence was then called, told the Prince, if he wished 
to ask any questions respecting naval tactics, Captain Nelson 
could give him as much information as any officer in the fleet. 
The Duke, who, to his own honor, became from that time the 
firm friend of Nelson, describes him as appearing the merest 
boy of a captain he had ever seen, dressed in a full lace uni- 
form, an old-fashioned waistcoat with long flaps, and his lank 
unpowdered hair tied in a stiff Hessian tail ^ of extraordinary 
length ; making altogether so remarkable a figure, " that," says 
the Duke, " I had never seen anything like it before, nor could 
I imagine who he was, nor what he came about. But his 
address and conversation were irresistibly pleasing ; and when 
he spoke on professional subjects it was with an enthusiasm 
that showed he was no common being." 

Tidings soon arrived that the preliminaries of peace had 
been signed ; and the Albemarle returned to England, and was 
paid off. Nelson's first business, after he got to London, even 
before he went to see his relations, was to attempt to get the 
wages due to his men for the various ships in which they had 
served during the war. " The disgust of seamen to the navy," 
he said, " was all owing to the iniquitous plan of turning them 
over from ship to ship, so that men could not be attached to 
the officers, nor the officers care the least about the men." Yet 

^ Prince William Henry. — Third son of George III., afterwards King 
William IV. 

^ Hessian Tail. — The king of Prussia was the first to adopt the pigtail 
as a modification of the wig. He introduced it into his army, and not only 
did the other European armies follow his example, but it became a fashion- 
able part of dress. This lasted until the beginning of the present century, 
when it gradually disappeared. It was, however, longest retained in the 
Hessian army. As the Hessian soldiers, often hired by the English gov- 
ernment as mercenaries, were thus familiar to Englishmen, the explanation 
of the ^'^ Hessian tail " may be due to this fact. 



24 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

he himself was so beloved by his men that his whole ship's 
company offered, if he could get a ship, to enter for her imme- 
diately. He was now, for the first time, presented at Court. 
After going through this ceremony he dined with his friend 
Davison at Lincoln's Inn. As soon as he entered the cham- 
bers he threw off what he called his iron-bound coat, and put- 
ting himself at ease in a dressing-gown, passed the remainder 
of the day in talking over all that had befallen them since they 
parted on the shore of the River St. Lawrence. 



CHAPTER II. 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 



" T HAVE closed the war," said Nelson in one of his letters, 
X " without a fortune ; but there is not a speck on my 
character. True honor, I hope, predominates in my mind far 
above riches." In March he was appointed to the £o?^eas, 
twenty-eight guns, going to the Leeward Islands as a cruiser, 
on the peace establishment. Lady Hughes and her family 
went out with him to Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, who com- 
manded on that station. His ship was full of young midship- 
men, of whom there were not less than thirty on board ; and 
happy were they whose lot it was to be placed with such a cap- 
tain.^ If he perceived that a boy was afraid at first going aloft, 
he would say to him in a friendly manner : ** Well, sir, I am 
going a race to the masthead, and beg that I may meet you 
there." The poor little fellow instantly began to climb, and got 
up how he could ; Nelson never noticed in what manner, but 
when they met in the top, spoke cheerfully to him, and would 
say how much any person was to be pitied who fancied that 

1 A gallant officer thus describes his commander's personal habits at this 
time : " He rose every morning between four and five o'clock, breakfasted at 
six, sometimes much earlier, and vi^as in bed by ten. The breakfast party 
always included one or two midshipmen ; and he would often, during the 
middle watch — that is, between twelve and four o'clock — send the little 
fellows an invitation to breakfast after they should come off duty at four 
o'clock. A treat indeed for the lads to look forward to ! At table he 
would joke with the merriest of them and be the most youthful of the 
party. At dinner every officer of the ship was his guest in turn, and Nel- 
son performed his part as a host in an eminent degree polished and hospi- 
table. The whole business of the fleet was invariably dispatched before 
eight o'clock. No man ever more keenly appreciated the value of time." 



26 southey's life of nelson. 

getting up was either dangerous or difficult. Every day he 
went into the school-room, to see that they were pursuing their 
nautical studies ; and at noon he was always the first on deck 
with his quadrant. Whenever he paid a visit of ceremony some 
of these youths accompanied him ; and when he went to dine 
with the governor of Barbadoes he took one of them in his 
hand and presented him, saying : " Your Excellency must 
excuse me for bringing one of my midshipmen. I make it 
a rule to introduce them to all the good company I can, as 
they have few to look up to besides myself during the time 
they are at sea." 

The Americans were at this time trading with our islands, 
taking advantage of the register of their ships, which had been 
issued while they were British subjects. Nelson knew that by 
the Navigation Act ^ no foreigners, directly or indirectly, are 
permitted to carry on any trade with these possessions ; he 
knew also that the Americans had made themselves foreigners 
with regard to England ; they had broken the ties of blood and 
language, and had acquired the independence which they had 
been provoked to claim, unhappily for themselves, before they 
were fit for it ; and he was resolved that they should derive no 
profit from those ties now. Foreigners they had made them- 
selves, and as foreigners they were to be treated. " If once," 
said he, "they are admitted to any kind of intercourse with 
our islands, the views of the loyalists in settling at Nova Scotia 
are entirely done away, and when we are again embroiled in a 
French war the Americans will first become the carriers of these 

^ Navigation Act. — In the middle of the seventeenth century the 
Dutch had got the carrying trade of Europe into their hands. In 1651 
the English Parliament passed the Navigation Act to stop this monopoly. 
Only English vessels were allowed to import goods into England. Excep- 
tion was made in the case of vessels belonging to the country in which the 
goods they carried were produced. The Act was reenacted in 1660. In 
1849 the Act was repealed, and foreign shipping admitted to compete with 
English. 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 2/ 

colonies, and then have possession of them. Here they come, 
sell their cargoes for ready money, go to Martinico, buy mo- 
lasses, and so round and round. The loyalist cannot do this, 
and consequently must sell a little dearer. The residents here 
are Americans by connection and by interest, and are inimical 
to Great Britain. They are as great rebels as ever were in 
America had they the power to show it." 

In November, when the squadron, having arrived at Bar- 
badoes, was to separate, with no other orders than those for 
examining anchorages, and the usual inquiries concerning wood 
and water. Nelson asked his friend CoUingwood, then Captain 
of the Mediator, whose opinions he knew upon the subject, to 
accompany him to the commander-in-chief, whom he then re- 
spectfully asked whether they were not to attend to the com- 
merce of the country and see that the Navigation Act was 
respected — that appearing to him to be the intent of keeping 
men-of-war upon this station in time of peace. Sir Richard 
Hughes replied he had no particular orders, neither had the 
Admiralty sent him any acts of parliament. But Nelson made 
answer that the Navigation Act was included in the statutes of 
the Admiralty, with which every captain was furnished, and 
that act was directed to admirals, captains, etc., to see it carried 
into execution. Sir Richard said he had never seen the book. 
Upon this Nelson produced the statutes, read the words of the 
act, and apparently convinced the commander-in-chief that 
men-of-war, as he said, " were sent abroad for some other pur- 
pose than to be made a show of." Accordingly orders were 
given to enforce the Navigation Act. 

CoUingwood, in the Mediator, and his brother, Wilfred Col- 
lingwood, in the Rattler, actively cooperated with Nelson. The 
custom houses were informed that after a certain day all foreign 
vessels found in the ports would be seized; and many were in 
consequence seized, and condemned in the Admiralty Court. 
When the Boreas arrived at Nevis she found four American 



28 southey's life of nelson. 

vessels, deeply laden, and with what are called the island colors 
flying — white with a red cross. They were ordered to hoist 
their proper flag, and depart within eight-and-forty hours ; but 
they refused to obey, denying that they were Americans. Some 
of their crews were then examined in Nelson's cabin, where the 
judge of the Admiralty happened to be present. The case was 
plain ; they confessed that they were Americans, and that the 
ships, hull and cargo, were wholly American property ; upon 
which he seized them. This raised a storm: the planters, the 
custom house, and the governor were all against him. Sub- 
scriptions were opened, and presently filled, for the purpose of 
carrying on the cause in behalf of the American captains ; and 
the admiral, whose flag was at that time in the roads, stood 
neutral. 

But the Americans and their abettors were not content with 
defensive law. The marines whom he had sent to secure the 
ships had prevented some of the masters from going ashore, 
and those persons, from whose depositions it appeared that the 
vessels and cargoes were American property, declared that they 
had given their testimony under bodily fear, for that a man 
with a drawn sword in his hand had stood over them the 
whole of the time. A rascally lawyer, whom the party em- 
ployed, suggested this story ; and as the sentry at the cabin 
door was a man with a drawn sword, the Americans made no 
scruple of swearing to this ridiculous falsehood, and commenc- 
ing prosecutions against him accordingly. They laid their 
damages at the enormous sum of ^40,000, and Nelson was 
obliged to keep close on board his own ship lest he should be 
arrested for a sum for which it would have been impossible 
to find bail. The marshal frequently came on board to arrest 
him, but was always prevented by the address of the first 
lieutenant, Mr. Wallace. Had he been taken, such was the 
temper of the people that it was certain he would have been 
cast for the whole sum. 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 29 

One of his officers, one day, in speaking of the restraint 
which he was thus compelled to suffer, happened to use the 
word pity. " Pity ! " exclaimed Nelson, " Pity, did you say ? 
I shall live, sir, to be envied ; and to that point I shall always 
direct my course." 

Eight weeks he remained under this state of duress. 
During that time the trial respecting these detained ships came 
on in the Court of Admiralty. He went on shore under a 
protection for the day from the judge ; but notwithstanding 
this, the marshal was called upon to take that opportunity of 
arresting him, and the merchants promised to indemnify him 
for so doing. The judge, however, did his duty, and threatened 
to send the marshal to prison if he attempted to violate the 
protection of the court. Mr. Herbert, the president of Nevis, 
behaved with singular generosity upon this occasion. Though 
no man was a greater sufferer by the measures which Nelson 
had pursued, he offered in court to become his bail for ;^i 0,000 
if he chose to suffer the arrest. The lawyer whom he had 
chosen proved to be an able as well as an honest man, and 
notwithstanding the opinions and pleadings of most of the 
counsel of the different islands, who maintained that ships of 
war were not justified in seizing American vessels without a 
deputation from the Customs, the law was so explicit, the case 
so clear, and Nelson pleaded his own cause so well, that the 
four ships were condemned. 

During the progress of this- business he sent a memorial 
home to the King, in consequence of which orders were issued 
that he should be defended at the expense of the Crown ; and 
upon the representations which he made at the same time to 
the Secretary of State, and the suggestions with which he 
accompanied them, the Register Act ^ was framed. The 

1 Register Act. — Under this Act, passed 1786, all vessels authorized to 
sail under the British flag were required to be registered, — " an act for the 
further increase and encouragement of shipping and navigation." 



30 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

sanction of Government, and the approbation of his conduct 
which it impHed, were highly gratifying to him; but he was 
offended, and not without just cause, that the Treasury should 
have transmitted thanks to the commander-in-chief for his 
activity and zeal in protecting the commerce of Great Britain. 
" Had they known all,^ " said he, " I do not think they would 
have bestowed thanks in that quarter, and neglected me. I 
feel much hurt, that, after the loss of health and risk of fortune, 
another should be thanked for what I did against his orders. 
I either deserved to be sent out of the service, or at least to 
have had some little notice taken of what I had done. They 
have thought it worthy of notice, and yet have neglected me. 
If this is a reward for a faithful discharge of my duty, I shall 
be careful, and never stand forward again. But I have done 
my duty, and have nothing to accuse myself of." 

The anxiety he had suffered from the harassing uncertainties 
of law is apparent from these expressions. He had, however, 
something to console him, for he was at this time wooing the 
niece of his friend the president, then in her eighteenth year, 
the widow of Dr. Nisbet, a physician. She had one child, a 
son, by name Josiah, who was three years old. One day, Mr. 
Herbert, who had hastened, half-dressed, to receive Nelson, 
exclaimed, on returning to his dressing-room, "If I did not 
find that great little man, of whom everybody is so afraid, 
playing in the next room, under the dining-table, with Mrs. 
Nisbet's child ! " A few days afterwards Mrs. Nisbet herself 
was first introduced to him, and thanked him for the partiality 
which he had shown her little boy. Her manners were mild 
and winning ; and the captain, whose heart was easily suscep- 
tible of attachment, found no such imperious necessity for 

^ Had they known, etc. — The attentive student may find other similar 
complaints in this book. Like many other great public men Nelson was 
not diffident in overrating his own services to his country. The matter of 
praise and promotion was always a tender point with him. 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 3 1 

subduing his inclinations as had twice before withheld him 
from marrying. They were married on March ii, 1787; 
Prince William Henry, who had come out to the West Indies 
the preceding winter, being present, by his own desire, to give 
away the bride. Mr. Herbert, her uncle, was at this time so 
much displeased with his only daughter that he had resolved 
to disinherit her, and leave his whole fortune, which was very 
great, to his niece. But Nelson, whose nature was too noble 
to let him profit by an act of injustice, interfered, and suc- 
ceeded in reconciling the president to his child. 

" Yesterday," said one of his naval friends the day after the 
wedding, "the navy lost one of its greatest ornaments by 
Nelson's marriage. It is a national loss that such an officer 
should marry ; had it not been for this. Nelson would have 
become the greatest man in the service." The man was 
rightly estimated ; but he who delivered this opinion did not 
understand the effect of domestic love and duty upon a mind 
of the true heroic stamp. 

During his stay upon this station he had ample opportunity 
of observing the scandalous practices of the contractors, prize- 
agents, and other persons in the West Indies connected with 
the naval service. When he was first left with the command, 
and bills were brought him to sign for money which was owing 
for goods purchased for the navy, he required the original 
voucher, that he might examine whether those goods had been 
really purchased at the market price ; but to produce vouchers 
would not have been convenient, and therefore was not the 
custom. Upon this Nelson wrote to Sir Charles Middleton, 
Comptroller of the Navy, representing the abuses which were 
likely to be practiced in this manner. The answer which he 
received seemed to imply that the old forms were thought 
sufficient ; and thus, having no alternative, he was compelled, 
with his eyes open, to submit to a practice originating in 
fraudulent intentions. 



32 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Soon afterwards, two Antigua merchants informed him that 
they were privy to great frauds which had been committed 
upon Government in various departments : at Antigua to the 
amount of nearly ;^5 00,000 ; at Lucie, ^300,000 ; at Barbadoes, 
^250,000 ; at Jamaica, upwards of a milhon. The informers 
were both shrewd, sensible men of business ; they did not affect 
to be actuated by a sense of justice, but required a percentage 
upon so much as Government should actually recover through 
their means. Nelson examined the books and papers which 
they produced, and was convinced that Government had been 
most infamously plundered. Vouchers, he found, in that 
country, were no check whatever : the principle was " that 
a thing was always worth what it would bring " ; and the mer- 
chants were in the habit of signing vouchers for each other 
without even the appearance of looking at the articles. These 
accounts he sent home to the different departments which had 
been defrauded ; but the peculators were too powerful, and 
they succeeded not merely in impeding inquiry, but even in 
raising prejudices againt Nelson at the Board of Admiralty, 
which it was many years before he could subdue.-^ 

Owing probably to these prejudices, and the influence of the 
peculators, he was treated on his return to England in a man- 
ner which had nearly driven him from the service. During 
the three years that the Boreas had remained upon a station 
which is usually so fatal, not a single officer or man of her whole 
complement had died. This almost unexampled instance of 
good health, though mostly, no doubt, imputable to healthy 
seasons, must in some measure also be ascribed to the wise 
conduct of the captain. He never suffered the ships to remain 
more than three or four at a time at any of the islands ; and 
when the hurricane months confined him to English Harbor, 
he encouraged all kinds of useful amusements — music, dancing, 

1 The highest authorities claim that there is no truth in this statement 
as given by Mr. Southey. 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 33 

and cudgelling among the men, theatricals among the officers ; 
anything which could employ their attention and keep their 
spirits cheerful. The Boreas arrived in England in June. 

Nelson, who had many times been supposed to be consump- 
tive when in the West Indies, and perhaps was saved from 
consumption by that climate, was still in a precarious state of 
health ; and the raw wet weather of one of our ungenial 
summers brought on cold and sore throat and fever ; yet his 
vessel was kept at the Nore from the end of June till the end 
of November, serving as a slop and receiving ship. This 
unworthy treatment, which more probably proceeded from 
intention than from neglect, excited in Nelson the strongest 
indignation. During the whole five months he seldom or 
never quitted the ship, but carried on the duty with strict and 
sullen attention. On the morning when orders were received 
to prepare the Boreas for being paid off, he expressed his joy 
to the senior officer in the Medway, saying : " It will release 
me forever from an ungrateful service, for it is my firm and 
unalterable determination never again to set my foot on board 
a King's ship. Immediately after my arrival in town I shall 
wait upon the First Lord of the Admiralty and resign my 
commission." 

The officer to whom he thus communicated his intentions 
behaved in the wisest and most friendly manner ; for finding 
it vain to dissuade him in his present state of feeling, he secretly 
interfered with the First Lord to save him from a step so injuri- 
ous to himself, little foreseeing how deeply the welfare and 
honor of England were at that moment at stake. This inter- 
ference produced a letter from Lord Howe, the day before the 
ship was paid off, intimating a wish to see Captain Nelson as 
soon as he arrived in town ; when, being pleased with his con- 
versation and perfectly convinced by what was then explained 
to him of the propriety of his conduct, he desired that he might 
present him to the King on the first levee day; and the gra- 



34 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

cious manner in which Nelson was then received effectually 
removed his resentment. 

Prejudices had been, in like manner, excited against his 
friend. Prince William Henry. '' Nothing is wanting, sir," 
said Nelson in one of his letters, " to make you the darling of 
the English nation, but truth. Sorry I am to say, much to the 
contrary has been dispersed." This was not flattery, for 
Nelson was no flatterer. The letter in which this passage 
occurs shows in how wise and noble a manner he dealt with 
the Prince. One of his Royal Highness's officers had applied 
for a court-martial upon a point in which he was unquestion- 
ably wrong. His Royal Highness, however, while he supported 
his own character and authority, prevented the trial, which 
must have been injurious to a brave and deserving man. 
" Now that you are parted," said Nelson, " pardon me, my 
Prince, when I presume to recommend that he may stand in 
your royal favor as if he had never sailed with you, and that 
at some future day you will serve him. There only wants this 
to place your conduct in the highest point of view. None of 
us are without failings ; his was being rather too hasty ; but 
that, put into competition with his being a good officer, will 
not, I am bold to say, be taken in the scale against him. 
More able friends than myself your Royal Highness may easily 
find, and of more consequence in the State ; but one more 
attached and affectionate is not so easily met with. Princes 
seldom, very seldom, find a disinterested person to communi- 
cate their thoughts to. I do not pretend to be that person ; 
but of this be assured by a man who, I trust, never did a dis- 
honorable act, that I am interested only that your Royal 
Highness should be the greatest and best man this country 
ever produced." 

Encouraged by the conduct of Lord Howe and by his recep- 
tion at Court, Nelson renewed his attack upon the peculators 
with fresh spirit. He had interviews with Mr. Rose, Mr. Pitt, 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 35 

and Sir Charles Middleton, to all of whom he satisfactorily- 
proved his charges. In consequence, it is said, these very 
extensive public frauds were at length put in a proper train to 
be provided against in future; his representations were attended 
to, and every step which he recommended was adopted ; the 
investigation was put into a proper course, which ended in the 
detection and punishment of some of the culprits ; an immense 
saving was made to Government ; and thus its attention was 
directed to similar peculations in other parts of the colonies. 

Nelson took his wife to his father's parsonage, meaning only 
to pay him a visit before they went to France ; a project which 
he had formed for the sake of acquiring a competent knowledge 
of the French language. But his father could not bear to lose 
him thus unnecessarily. Mr. Nelson had long been an invalid, 
suffering under paralytic and asthmatic affections, which for 
several hours after he rose in the morning scarcely permitted 
him to speak. He had been given over by his physicians for 
this complaint nearly forty years before his death, and was for 
many of his last years obliged to spend all his winters at Bath. 
The sight of his son, he declared, had given him new life. 
" But, Horatio," said he, " it would have been better that I had 
not been thus cheered if I am so soon to be bereaved of you 
again. Let me, my good son, see you whilst I can. My age 
and infirmities increase, and I shall not last long." To such 
an appeal there could be no reply. Nelson took up his abode 
at the parsonage, and amused himself with the sports and 
occupations of the country. Sometimes he busied himself with 
farming the glebe ; sometimes spent the greater part of the day 
in the garden, where he would dig as if for the mere pleasure 
of wearying himself ; sometimes he went a-bird's-nesting, like 
a boy; and in these expeditions Mrs. Nelson always, by his 
express desire, accompanied him. Coursing was his favorite 
amusement. Shooting, as he practiced it, was far too danger- 
ous for his companions, for he carried his gun upon the full 



36 southey's life of nelson. 

cock, as if he were going to board an enemy, and the moment 
a bird rose he would let fly, without ever putting the fowling- 
piece to his shoulder. It is not, therefore, extraordinary that 
his having once shot a partridge should be remembered by his 
family among the remarkable events of his life. 

But his time did not pass away thus without some vexatious 
cares to ruffle it. The affair of the American ships was not yet 
over, and he was again pestered with threats of prosecution. 
*' I have written them word," said he, " that I will have nothing 
to do with them, and they must act as they think proper. 
Government, I suppose, will do what is right, and not leave me 
in the lurch. We have heard enough lately of the consequences 
of the Navigation Act to this country. They may take my 
person ; but if sixpence would save me from a prosecution, I 
would not give it." It was his great ambition at this time to 
possess a pony, and having resolved to purchase one, he went 
to a fair for that purpose. During his absence two men 
abruptly entered the parsonage and inquired for him ; they 
then asked for Mrs. Nelson, and after they had made her 
repeatedly declare that she was really and truly the captain's 
wife, presented her with a writ, or notification, on the part of 
the American captains, who now laid their damages at ;^2 0,000, 
and they charged her to give it to her husband on his return. 
Nelson having bought his pony, came home with it in high 
spirits. He called out his wife to admire the purchase, and 
listen to all its excellences ; nor was it till his glee had in some 
measure subsided that the paper could be presented to him. 
His indignation was excessive, and, in the apprehension that he 
should be exposed to the anxieties of the suit and the ruinous 
consequences which might ensue, he exclaimed, " This affront 
I did not deserve ! But I '11 be trifled with no longer. I will 
write immediately to the Treasury, and if Government will not 
support me, I am resolved to leave the country." Accordingly, 
he informed the Treasury that if a satisfactory answer were not 



IN THE WEST INDIES. 37 

sent him by return of post, he should take refuge in France. 
To this he expected he should be driven, and for this he 
arranged everything with his characteristic rapidity of decision. 
It was settled that he should depart immediately, and Mrs. Nel- 
son follow, under the care of his elder brother Maurice, ten 
days after him. But the answer which he received from 
Government quieted his fears : it stated that Captain Nelson 
was a very good officer, and needed to be under no apprehen- 
sion, for he would assuredly be supported. 

Here his disquietude upon this subject seems to have ended. 
Still he was not at ease ; he wanted employment, and was 
mortified that his applications for it produced no effect. " Not 
being a man of fortune," he said, " was a crime which he was 
unable to get over, and therefore none of the great cared about 
him." Repeatedly he requested the Admiralty that they would 
not leave him to rust in indolence. During the armament 
which was made upon occasion of the dispute concerning 
Nootka Sound ^ he renewed his application ; and his steady 
friend, Prince William, who had then been created Duke of 
Clarence, recommended him to Lord Chatham.^ The failure 
of this recommendation wounded him so keenly that he again 
thought of retiring from the service in disgust : a resolution 
from which nothing but the urgent remonstrances of Lord 
Hood induced him to desist. Hearing that the Raisonnable, in 
which he had commenced his career, was to be commissioned, 
he asked for her. This also was in vain, and a coolness 
ensued on his part towards Lord Hood, because that excellent 
officer did not use his influence with Lord Chatham on this 
occasion. Lord Hood, however, had certainly sufficient reason 
for not interfering, for he ever continued his steady friend. In 

^ Nootka Sound. — On the west side of Vancouver Island. An English 
settlement on this sound had been seized by Spain in 1789, which event 
nearly led to war. 

2 Eldest son of the great Lord Chatham, brother of William Pitt. 



38 southey's life of nelson. 

the winter of 1792, when we were on the eve of the revolu- 
tionary war, Nelson once more offered his services, earnestly 
requested a ship, and added that if their lordships should be 
pleased to appoint him to a cockle-boat, he should feel satis- 
fied. He was answered in the usual official form : " Sir, — I 
have received your letter of the 5th instant, expressing your 
readiness to serve, and have read the same to my Lords Com- 
missioners of the Admiralty." On the 12th of December he 
received this dry acknowledgment. This fresh mortification 
did not, however, affect him long, for by the joint interest of 
the Duke and Lord Hood he was appointed, on the 30th of 
January following, to the Agamemnon, of sixty-four guns. 



CHAPTER III. 

FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

"'T^HERE are three things, young gentleman," said Nelson 
X to one of his midshipmen, " which you are constantly to 
bear in mind : first, you must always implicitly obey orders, with- 
out attempting to form any opinion of your own respecting their 
propriety ; secondly, you must consider every man your enemy 
who speaks ill of your King ; and thirdly, you must hate a 
Frenchman." With these feelings he engaged in the war. 
Josiah, his stepson, went with him as midshipman. 

The Agamemnon was ordered to the Mediterranean, under 
Lord Hood. The fleet arrived in those seas at a time when 
the South of France would willingly have formed itself into a 
separate republic under the protection of England ; but good 
principles had been at that time perilously abused by ignorant 
and profligate men, and, in its fear and hatred of democracy 
the English government abhorred whatever was republican. 
Lord Hood could not take advantage of the fair occasion which 
presented itself, and which, if it had been seized with vigor, 
might have ended in dividing France ; but he negotiated with 
the people of Toulon to take possession provisionally of their 
port and city, which, fatally for themselves, was done. Before 
the British fleet entered. Nelson was sent with dispatches to 
Sir William Hamilton, our envoy at the Court of Naples. Sir 
William, after his first interview with him, told Lady Hamilton 
he was about to introduce a little man to her, who could not 
boast of being very handsome, but such a man as, he believed, 
would one day astonish the world. 

Having accomplished this mission, Nelson received orders 
to join Commodore Linzee at Tunis, where he had been sent 



40 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

to expostulate with the Dey upon the impohcy of his supporting 
the revolutionary government of France. Nelson represented 
to him the atrocity of that government. Such arguments 
were of little avail in Barbary ; and when the Dey was told 
that the French had put their sovereign to death, he dryly 
replied, that " nothing could be more heinous ; and yet, if 
historians told the truth, the English had once done the same." 
This answer had doubtless been suggested by the French 
about him ; they had completely gained the ascendency, and 
all negotiation on our part proved fruitless. Shortly afterwards 
Nelson was detached with a small squadron to cooperate with 
General Paoli and the anti-Gallican party in Corsica. 

Some thirty years before this time the heroic patriotism of 
the Corsicans, and of their leader Paoli, had been the admira- 
tion of England. The history of these brave people is but a 
melancholy tale. The island which they inhabit has been 
abundantly blessed by nature ; it has many excellent harbors ; 
and though the malaria, or pestilential atmosphere, which is 
so deadly in many parts of Italy and of the Italian islands, 
prevails on the eastern coast, the greater part of the country is 
mountainous and healthy. It is about 150 miles long and 
from 40 to 50 broad, in circumference some 3200 — a country 
large enough, and sufficiently distant from the nearest shores, 
to have subsisted as an independent state if the welfare and 
happiness of the human race had ever been considered as the 
end and aim of policy. The Moors, the Pisans, the kings of 
Aragon, and the Genoese, successively attempted and each 
for a time effected its conquest. The yoke of the Genoese 
continued longest, and was the heaviest. These petty tyrants 
ruled with an iron rod ; and when at any time a patriot rose to 
resist their oppressions, if they failed to subdue him by force, 
they resorted to assassination. At the commencement of the 
last century they quelled one revolt by the aid of German 
auxiliaries whom the Emperor Charles VI. sent against a 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 4 1 

people who had never offended him, and who were fighting for 
whatever is most dear to man. In 1734 the war was renewed, 
and Theodore, a Westphalian baron, then appeared upon the 
stage. In that age men were not accustomed to see adven- 
turers play for kingdoms, and Theodore became the common 
talk of Europe. He had served in the French armies, and hav- 
ing afterwards been noticed both by Ripperda -^ and Alberoni,^ 
their example perhaps inflamed a spirit as ambitious and as 
unprincipled as their own. He employed the whole of his 
means in raising money and procuring arms ; then wrote to 
the leaders of the Corsican patriots to offer them considerable 
assistance if they would erect Corsica into an independent 
kingdom and elect him king. When he landed among them 
they were struck with his stately person, his dignified manners, 
and imposing talents : they believed the magnificent promises 
of foreign assistance which he held out, and elected him king 
accordingly. Had his means been as he represented them, 
they could not have acted more wisely than in thus at once 
fixing the government of their country, and putting an end to 
those rivalries among the leading families which had so often 
proved pernicious to the public weal. He struck money, con- 
ferred titles, blocked up the fortified towns which were held by 
the Genoese, and amused the people with promises of assistance 
for about eight months ; then perceiving that they cooled in 
their affections toward him in proportion as their expectations 
were disappointed, he left the island under the plea of expedi- 
ting himself the succors which he had so long awaited. Such 
was his address that he prevailed upon several rich merchants' 

1 Ripperda. — A Dutch adventurer who became virtually prime minister 
of Spain for a time. After his downfall he commanded the army of 
the King of Morocco. He died in 1737. 

2 Alberoni (i 664-1 752). — An Italian adventurer of low birth who became 
prime minister of Spain and a cardinal. He was most unscrupulous, but 
did much to revive the ancient glory of Spain. 



42 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

in Holland, particularly the Jews, to trust him with cannon 
and warlike stores to a great amount. They shipped these 
under the charge of a supercargo. Theodore returned with 
this supercargo to Corsica, and put him to death on his arrival, 
as the shortest way of settling the account. The remainder of 
his life was a series of deserved afflictions. He threw in the 
stores which he had thus fraudulently obtained ; but he did 
not dare to land, for Genoa had now called in the French to 
their assistance, and a price had been set upon his head. His 
dreams of royalty were now at an end ; he took refuge in 
London, contracted debts, and was thrown into the King's 
Bench.-^ After lingering there many years he was released 
under an act of insolvency, in consequence of which he made 
over the kingdom of Corsica for the use of his creditors, and 
died shortly after his deliverance. 

The French, who have never acted a generous part in the 
history of the world, readily entered into the views of the 
Genoese, which accorded with their own policy ; . for such was 
their ascendency at Genoa, that in subduing Corsica for these 
allies, they were in fact subduing it for themselves. They 
entered into the contest, therefore, with their usual vigor and 
their usual cruelty. It was in vain that the Corsicans addressed 
a most affecting memorial to the Court of Versailles ; that re- 
morseless government persisted in its flagitious project. They 
poured in troops ; dressed a part of them like the people of 
the country, by which means they deceived and destroyed many 
of the patriots ; cut down the standing corn, the vines, and the 
olives ; set fire to the villages, and hung all the most able and 
active men who fell into their hands. A war of this kind 
may be carried on with success against a country so small and 
so thinly peopled as Corsica. Having reduced the island to 
perfect servitude, which they called peace, the French withdrew 
their forces. As soon as they were gone, men, women, and 

^ King's Bench. — A prison in which debtors were confined. 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 43 

boys rose at once against their oppressors. The circumstances 
of the times were now favorable to them, and some British 
ships, acting as allies of Sardinia, bombarded Bastia and St. 
Fiorenzo, and delivered them into the hands of the patriots. 
This service was long remembered with gratitude ; the impres- 
sion made upon our own countrymen was less favorable. 
They had witnessed the heartburning of rival chiefs and the 
dissensions among the patriots, and perceiving the state of 
barbarism to which continual oppression and habits of lawless 
turbulence had reduced the nation, did not recollect that the 
vices of the people were owing to their unhappy circumstances, 
but that the virtues which they displayed arose from their own 
nature. This feeling perhaps influenced the British Court 
when in 1746 Corsica offered to put herself under the protec- 
tion of Great Britain. An answer was returned, expressing 
satisfaction at such a communication, hoping that the Corsi- 
cans would preserve the same sentiments, but signifying also 
that the present was not the time for such a measure. 

The brave islanders then formed a government for them- 
selves under two leaders, Gaffori and Matra, who had the title 
of Protectors. The latter is represented as a partisan of Genoa, 
favoring the views of the oppressors of his country by the 
most treasonable means. Gaffori was a hero worthy of old 
times. His eloquence was long remembered with admiration. 
A band of assassins was once advancing against him ; he heard 
of their approach, and went out to meet them, and, with a 
serene dignity which overawed them, requested them to hear 
him. He then spake to them so forcibly of the distresses of 
their country, her intolerable wrongs, and the hopes and views 
of their brethren-in-arms, that the very men who had been 
hired to murder him fell at his feet, implored his forgiveness, 
and joined his banner. While he was besieging the Genoese 
in Corte, a part of the garrison, perceiving the nurse with his 
eldest son, then an infant in arms, straying at a little distance 



44 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

from the camp, suddenly sallied out and seized them. The 
use they made of their persons was in conformity with their 
usual execrable conduct. When Gaffori advanced to batter the 
walls, they held up the child directly over that part of the wall 
at which the guns were pointed. The Corsicans stopped, but 
Gaffori stood at their head, and ordered them to continue the 
fire. Providentially the child escaped, and lived to relate, with 
becoming feeling, a fact so honorable to his father. That 
father conducted the affairs of the island till 1753, when he 
was assassinated by some wretches, set on, it is believed, by 
Genoa, but certainly pensioned by that abominable government 
after the deed. He left the country in such a state that it was 
enabled to continue the war two years after his death without a 
leader, when they found one worthy of their cause in Pasquale 
de Paoli.^ 

Paoli's father was one of the patriots who effected their 
escape from Corsica when the French reduced it to obedience. 
He retired to Naples, and brought up this his youngest son in 
the Neapolitan service. The Corsicans heard of young Paoli's 
abilities, and solicited him to come over to his native country, 
and take the command. He did not hesitate long: his father, 
who was too far advanced in years to take an active part him- 
self, encouraged him to go ; and when they separated the old 
man fell on his neck and kissed him, and gave him his blessing. 
" My son," said he, " perhaps I may never see you more ; but 
in my mind I shall ever be present with you. Your design is 
great and noble, and I doubt not but God will bless you in it. 
I shall devote to your cause the little remainder of my life in 
offering up my prayers for your success." When Paoli assumed 
the command he found all things in confusion: he formed a 

^ Paoli. — The reader may find many references to this Paoli in Bos- 
well's Life of Johnson. In fact, Boswell wrote a life of Paoli and was 
nicknamed " Paoli " by friends who ridiculed his admiration of the Corsi- 
can hero. 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 45 

democratical government, of which he was chosen chief, re- 
stored the authority of the laws, established a university, and 
took such measures, both for repressing abuses and molding 
the rising generation, that if France had not interfered, upon 
its wicked and detestable principle of usurpation, Corsica might 
at this day have been as free and flourishing and happy a com- 
monwealth as any of the Grecian States in the days of their 
prosperity. The Genoese were at this time driven out of their 
fortified towns, and must in a short time have been expelled. 
France was indebted some millions of livres to Genoa; it was 
not convenient to pay this money ; so the French Minister pro- 
posed to the Genoese that she should discharge the debt by 
sending six battalions to serve in Corsica for four years. The 
indignation which this conduct excited in all generous hearts 
was forcibly expressed by Rousseau, who, with all his errors, 
was seldom deficient in feeling for the wrongs of humanity. 
" You Frenchmen," said he, writing to one of that people, 
" are a thoroughly servile nation, thoroughly sold to tyranny, 
thoroughly cruel, and relentless in persecuting the unhappy. 
If they knew of a freeman at the other end of the world, I 
believe they would go thither for the mere pleasure of extir- 
pating him." 

The immediate object of the French happened to be purely 
mercenary, — they wanted to clear off their debt to Genoa ; and 
as the presence of their troops in the island effected this, they 
aimed at doing the people no farther mischief. Would that 
the conduct of England had been at this time free from re- 
proach ; but a proclamation was issued by the English govern- 
ment, after the peace of Paris,^ prohibiting any intercourse with 
the rebels of Corsica. Paoli said, he did not expect this from 
Great Britain. This great man was deservedly proud of his 
country. " I defy Rome, Sparta, or Thebes," he would say, 

^ Peace of Paris. — Concluded in 1783 between France, England, Spain, 
and Portugal. 



46 southey's life of nelson. 

" to show me thirty years of such patriotism as Corsica can 
boast ! " Availing himself of the respite which the inactivity of 
the French and the weakness of the Genoese allowed, he prose- 
cuted his plans of civilizing the people. He used to say that, 
though he had an unspeakable pride in the prospect of the 
fame to which he aspired, yet, if he could but render his 
countrymen happy, he would be content to be forgotten. His 
own importance he never affected to undervalue. " We are 
now to our country," said he, " like the prophet Elisha^ stretched 
over the dead body of the Shunamite — eye to eye, nose to nose, 
mouth to mouth. It begins to recover warmth and to revive : 
I hope it will yet regain full health and vigor." 

But when the four years were expired France purchased the 
sovereignty of Corsica from the Genoese for forty millions of 
livres, as if the Genoese had been entitled to sell it, — as if any 
bargain or sale could justify one country in taking possession 
of another against the will of the inhabitants, and butchering 
all who oppose the usurpation. Among the enormities which 
France has committed, this action seems but as a speck ; yet 
the foulest murderer that ever suffered by the hands of the 
executioner has infinitely less guilt upon his soul than the 
statesman who concluded this treaty, and the monarch who 
sanctioned and confirmed it. A desperate and glorious resist- 
ance was made, but it was in vain ; no power interposed in 
behalf of these injured islanders, and the French poured in as 
many troops as were required. They offered to confirm Paoli 
in the supreme authority, only on condition that he would 
hold it under their government. His answer was, " that the 
rocks which surrounded him should melt away before he would 
betray a cause which he held in common with the poorest 
Corsican." This people then set a price upon his head. 
During two campaigns he kept them at bay ; they overpowered 
him at length ; he was driven to the shore, and having escaped 

1 Prophet Elisha. — See 2 Kings iv. 34. 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 4/ 

on shipboard, took refuge in England. It is said that Lord 
Shelburne resigned his seat in the cabinet because the ministry 
looked on without attempting to prevent France from succeed- 
ing in this abominable and important act of aggrandizement. 
In one respect, however, our country acted as became her. Paoli 
was welcomed with the honors which he deserved; a pension of 
;!^i2oo per annum was immediately granted him, and provision 
was liberally made for his elder brother and his nephew. 

Above twenty years Paoli remained in England, enjoying 
the friendship of the wise and the admiration of the good. 
But when the French Revolution began it seemed as if the 
restoration of Corsica was at hand. The whole country, as if 
animated by one spirit, rose and demanded liberty; and the 
National Assembly passed a decree recognizing the island as a 
Department of France, and therefore entitled to all the privi- 
leges of the new French constitution. This satisfied the 
Corsicans, which it ought not to have done ; and Paoli, in 
whom the ardor of youth was passed, seeing that his country- 
men were contented, and believing that they were about to 
enjoy a state of freedom, naturally wished to return to his 
native country. He resigned his pension in the year 1790, and 
appeared at the bar of the Assembly with the Corsican deputies 
when they took the oath of fidelity to France. But the course 
of events in France soon dispelled those hopes of a new and 
better order of things which Paoli, in common with so many 
of the friends of humankind, had indulged ; and perceiving, 
after the execution of the king, that a civil war was about to 
ensue, of which no man could foresee the issue, he prepared to 
break the connection between Corsica and the French Republic. 
The Convention, suspecting such a design, and perhaps occasion- 
ing it by their suspicions, ordered him to their bar. That way, 
he well knew, led to the guillotine ; and, returning a respectful 
answer, he declared that he would never be found wanting in 
his duty, but pleaded age and infirmity as a reason for disobey- 



48 southey's life of nelson. 

ing the summons. Their second order was more summary, 
and the French troops who were in Corsica, aided by those of 
the natives who were either influenced by hereditary party 
feelings or who were sincere in Jacobinism,^ took the field 
against him. But the people were with him. He repaired to 
Corte, the capital of the island, and was again invested with 
the authority which he had held in the noonday of his fame. 
The Convention upon this denounced him as a rebel, and set a 
price upon his head. It was not the first time that France had 
proscribed Paoli. 

Paoli now opened a correspondence with Lord Hood, prom- 
ising, if the English would make an attack upon St. Fiorenzo 
from the sea, he would at the same time attack it by land. 
This promise he was unable to perform, and Commodore 
Linzee, who, in reliance upon it, was sent upon this service, was 
repulsed with some loss. Lord Hood, who had now been com- 
pelled to evacuate Toulon, suspected Paoli of intentionally de- 
ceiving him. This was an injurious suspicion. Shortly after- 
wards he dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir John) 
Moore ^ and Major Koehler to cDnfer with him upon a plan of 
operations. Sir Gilbert Elliott accompanied them ; and it was 
agreed upon that, in consideration of the succors, both mili- 
tary and naval, which his Britannic Majesty should afford for the 
purpose of expelling the French, the island of Corsica should 
be delivered into the immediate possession of his Majesty, and 
bind itself to acquiesce in any settlement he might approve of 
concerning its government and its future relation with Great 

1 Jacobinism. — The extreme democratic or revolutionary principles 
as exemplified by Mirabeau, Danton, and their followers. This " club " 
used to meet in an old convent of the Jacobins, or Dominicans. Hence 
the name Jacobin. 

2 Sir John Moore. — The reader will recall the familiar lines, " Not a 
drum was heard, not a funeral note," etc., written in commemoration of 
this hero's death in 1809. 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 49 

Britain. While this negotiation was going on Nelson cruised 
off the island with a small squadron, to prevent the enemy 
from throwing in supplies. Close to St. Fiorenzo the French 
had a storehouse of flour, near their only mill: he watched an 
opportunity, and landed 120 men, who threw the flour into the 
sea, burnt the mill, and reembarked before looo men who were 
sent against him could occasion him the loss of a single man. 

While he exerted himself thus, keeping out all supplies, in- 
tercepting dispatches, attacking their outposts and forts, and 
cutting out vessels from the bay, — a species of warfare which 
depresses the spirits of an enemy even more than it injures 
them, because of the sense of individual superiority which it in- 
dicates in the assailants, — troops were landed, and St. Fiorenzo 
was besieged. The French finding themselves unable to main- 
tain that post, sunk one of their frigates, burnt another, and 
retreated to Bastia. Lord Hood submitted to General Dundas, 
who commanded the land forces, a plan for the reduction of 
this place : the general declined cooperating, thinking the 
attempt impracticable without a reinforcement of 2000 men 
which he expected from Gibraltar. Upon this Lord Hood de- 
termined to reduce it with the naval force under his command, 
and leaving part of his fleet off Toulon, he came with the rest 
to Bastia. 

He showed a proper sense of respect for Nelson's services, 
and of confidence in his talents, by taking care not to bring 
with him any older captain. A few days before their arrival 
Nelson had what he called a brush with the enemy. " If I had 
with me five hundred troops," he said, " to a certainty I should 
have stormed the town, and I believe it might have been carried. 
Armies go so slow that seamen think they never mean to get 
forward ; but I daresay they act on a surer principle, although 
we seldom fail." During this partial action our army appeared 
upon the heights, and having reconnoitred the place, returned 
to St. Fiorenzo. "What the general could have seen to make 



50 southey's life of nelson. 

a retreat necessary," said Nelson, ''I cannot comprehend. A 
thousand men would certainly take Bastia ; with five hundred 
and Agamemnon I would attempt it. My seamen are now what 
British seamen ought to be — almost invincible. They really 
mind shot no more than peas." 

General Dundas had not the same confidence. " After 
mature consideration," said he in a letter to Lord Hood, "and 
a personal inspection for several days of all circumstances, 
local as well as others, I consider the siege of Bastia, with our 
present means and force, to be a most visionary and rash 
attempt, such as no officer would be justified in undertaking." 
Lord Hood replied, that nothing would be more gratifying to 
his feelings than to have the whole responsibility upon himself, 
and that he was ready and willing to undertake the reduction 
of the place at his own risk, with the force and means at 
present there. General d'Aubant, who succeeded at this time 
to the command of the army, coincided in opinion with his 
predecessor, and did not think it right to furnish his lordship 
with a single soldier, cannon, or any stores. Lord Hood could 
only obtain a few artillerymen, and ordering on board that part 
of the troops who, having been embarked as marines, were 
borne on the ship's books as part of their respective comple- 
ments, he began the siege with 1183 soldiers, artillerymen, and 
marines, and 250 sailors. "We are but few," said Nelson, 
" but of the right sort ; our general at St. Fiorenzo not giving 
us one of the five regiments he has there lying idle." 

These men were landed on the 4th of April under Lieutenant- 
colonel Villettes and Nelson^ who had now acquired from the 
army the title of brigadier. Guns were dragged by the sailors 
up heights where it appeared almost impossible to convey 
them, — a work of the greatest difficulty, and which Nelson 
said could never, in his opinion, have been accomplished by 
any but British seamen. The soldiers, though less dexterous 
in such service, because not accustomed like sailors to habitual 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 5 1 

dexterity, behaved with equal spirit. " Their zeal," said the 
brigadier, " is almost unexampled. There is not a man but 
considers himself as personally interested in the event, and 
deserted by the general. It has, I am persuaded, made them 
equal to double their numbers." This is one proof of many 
that for our soldiers to equal our seamen it is only necessary 
for them to be equally well commanded. They have the same 
heart and soul, as well as the same flesh and blood. Too 
much may indeed be exacted from them in a retreat ; but set 
their face toward a foe, and there is nothing within the reach 
of human achievement which they cannot perform. 

The French had improved the leisure which our military 
commander had allowed them, and before Lord Hood com- 
menced his operations, he had the mortification of seeing that 
the enemy were every day erecting new works, strengthening 
old ones, and rendering the attempt more difficult. La Combe 
St. Michel, the commissioner from the National Convention, 
who was in the city, replied in these terms to the summons of 
the British admiral : " I have hot shot for your ships and 
bayonets for your troops. When two-thirds of our men are 
killed, I will then trust to the generosity of the English." The 
siege, however, was not sustained with the firmness which such 
a reply seemed to augur. On the 19th of May a treaty of 
capitulation was begun ; that same evening the troops from 
St. Fiorenzo made their appearance on the hills ; and on the 
following morning General d'Aubant arrived with the whole 
army to take possession of Bastia. 

The event of the siege justified the confidence of the sailors, 
but they themselves excused the opinion of the generals when 
they saw what they had done. " I am all astonishment," said 
Nelson, "when I reflect upon what we have achieved: 1000 
regulars, 1500 National Guards, and a large party of Corsican 
troops — 4000 in all — laying down their arms to 1200 soldiers, 
marines, and seamen ! " 



^2 southey's life of nelson. 

The Agamemnon was now dispatched to cooperate at the 
siege of Calvi with General Sir Charles Stuart, an officer who, 
unfortunately for his country, never had an adequate field 
allotted him for the display of those eminent talents which 
were, to all who knew him, so conspicuous. Nelson had less 
responsibility here than at Bastia, and was acting with a man 
after his own heart, who was never sparing of himself, and 
slept every night in the advanced battery. But the service was 
not less hard than that of the former siege. " We will fag 
ourselves to death," said he to Lord Hood, " before any blame 
shall lie at our doors. I trust it will not be forgotten that 
twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance have been dragged to the 
different batteries, mounted, and all but three fought by seamen, 
except one artilleryman to point the guns." The climate proved 
more destructive than the service, for this was during the 
period of the " lion sun," as they there call our season of 
"dog days." Of 2000 men, above half were sick, and the rest 
like so many phantoms. Nelson described himself as the reed 
among the oaks, bowing before the storm when they were laid 
low by it. " All the prevailing disorders have attacked me," 
said he, " but I have not strength enough for them to fasten 
on." The loss from the enemy was not great, but Nelson 
received a serious injury : a shot struck the ground near him, 
and drove the sand and small gravel into one of his eyes.-^ He 

^ X)ne of his eyes. — " It is well known that the great Lord Nelson lost 
the sight of one eye at the siege of Calvi, and never having seen an accurate 
account of the particulars, I have taken pains to ascertain them. In a 
letter to his wife (August 18, 1794) Nelson states : 'A shot having hit our 
battery, the splinters and stones from it struck me with great violence on 
the face and breast. Although the blow was so severe as to occasion a 
great flow of blood from my head, yet I most fortunately escaped, having 
only my right eye nearly deprived of sight. It was cut down, but is so far 
recovered as for me to be able to distinguish light from darkness. As to 
all purposes of use it is gone. However, the blemish is nothing, — not to be 
perceived unless told. The pupil is nearly the size of the blue part; I don't 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 53 

spoke of it slightly at the time : writing the same day to Lord 
Hood, he only said that he got a little hurt that morning, not 
much ; and the next day he said he shoul4 be able to attend 
his duty in the evening. In fact, he suffered it to confine him 
only one day ; but the sight was lost. 

After the fall of Calvi, his services were, by a strange omis- 
sion, altogether overlooked, and his name was not even men- 
tioned in the list of wounded. This was noways imputable 
to the admiral, for he sent home to Government Nelson's 
journal of the siege, that they might fully understand the 
nature of his indefatigable and unequaled exertions. If those 
exertions were not rewarded in the conspicuous manner which 
they deserved, the fault was in the Administration of the day, 
not in Lord Hood. Nelson felt himself neglected. 

The affairs of the Mediterranean wore at this time a gloomy 
aspect. The arts as well as the arms of the enemy were gaining 
the ascendency there. Tuscany concluded peace, relying upon 
the faith of France, which was, in fact, placing itself at her 
mercy. Corsica was in danger. 

We had taken that island for ourselves, annexed it formally 
to the crown of Great Britain, and given it a constitution as 
free as our own. This was done with the consent of the 
majority of the inhabitants, and no transaction between two 
countries was ever more fairly or legitimately conducted ; yet 
our conduct was unwise. The island is large enough to form 
an independent state, and such we should have made it, under 
our protection as long as protection might be needed. The 
Corsicans would then have felt as a nation, but when one party 
had given up the country to England, the natural consequence 
was that the other looked to France. The question proposed 
to the people was, to which would they belong ? Our language 

know the name.' The immediate effect of the injury was only to confine 
Nelson from duty one day, but he appears to have suffered a good deal 
subsequently." — Cooper's Wounds and Injuries of the Eye. . 



54 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

was against us ; our unaccommodating manners, it is to be 
feared, still more so. The French were better politicians. In 
intrigue they have ever been unrivaled ; and it now became 
apparent that, in spite of all wrongs, which ought never to have 
been forgotten or forgiven, their partisans were daily acquiring 
strength. It is part of the policy of France — and a wise 
policy it is — to impress upon other Powers the opinion of its 
strength by lofty language, and by threatening before it strikes, 
— a system which, while it keeps up the spirit of its allies, and 
perpetually stimulates their hopes, tends also to dismay its 
enemies. Corsica was now loudly threatened. The French, 
who had not yet been taught to feel their own inferiority upon 
the seas, braved us in contempt upon that element. They had 
a superior fleet in the Mediterranean, and they sent it out with 
express orders to seek the English and engage them. Accord- 
ingly, the Toulon fleet, consisting of seventeen ships of the line 
and five smaller vessels, put to sea. Admiral Hotham received 
this information at Leghorn, and sailed immediately in search 
of them. He had with him fourteen sail of the line and one 
Neapolitan seventy-four, but his ships were only half manned, 
containing but 7,650 men, whereas the enemy had 16,900. He 
soon came in sight of them ; a general action was expected ; 
and Nelson, as was his custom on such occasions, wrote a 
hasty letter to his wife, as that which might possibly contain 
his last farewell. " The lives of all," said he, " are in the 
hands of Him who knows best whether to preserve mine or 
not ; my character and good name are in my own keeping." 

But however confident the French government might be of 
their naval superiority, the officers had no such feeling ; and 
after manoeuvring for a day in sight of the English fleet, they 
suffered themselves to be chased. One of their ships, the Qa 
Ira^ of eighty-four guns, carried away her main and fore-top- 
masts. The Incojtstanf, frigate, fired at a disabled ship, but 
received so many shot that she was obliged to leave her. 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 55 

Soon afterwards a French frigate took the Qa Ira in tow ; and 
the Sans-Cttlottes, one hundred and twenty, and the Jean Barras, 
seventy-four, kept about gunshot distance on her weather bow. 
The Agamemnon stood towards her, having no ship of the Une 
to support her within several miles. As she drew near, the 
Qa Ira fired her stern guns so truly that not a shot missed 
some part of the ship, and latterly the masts were struck by 
every shot. It had been Nelson's intention not to fire before 
he touched her stern; but seeing how impossible it was he 
should be supported, and how certainly the Agamemnoft must 
be severely cut up if her masts were disabled, he altered his 
plan according to the occasion. As soon, therefore, as he was 
within a hundred yards of her stern, he ordered the helm to be 
put a-starboard, and the driver and after-sails to be brailed up 
and shivered ; and as the ship fell off, gave the enemy her 
whole broadside. They instantly braced up the after-yards, 
put the helm a-port, and stood after her again. This manoeuvre 
he practiced for two hours and a quarter, never allowing the 
Qa Ira to get a single gun from either side to bear on him ; 
and when the French fired their after-guns now, it was no 
longer with coolness and precision, for every shot went far 
ahead. By this time her sails were hanging in tatters, her 
mizzen-topmast, mizzen-topsail, and cross-jackyards shot away. 
But the frigate which had her in tow hove in stays, and got 
her round. Both these French ships now brought their guns 
to bear, and opened their fire. The Agamemnon passed them 
within half pistol-shot ; almost every shot passed over her, for 
the French had elevated their guns for the rigging and for 
distant firing, and did not think of altering the elevation. As 
soon as the Agamemnoji's after-guns ceased to bear, she hove 
in stays, keeping a constant fire as she came round, and being 
worked, said Nelson, with as much exactness as if she had 
been turning into Spithead. On getting round he saw that 
the Sajis-Cuhttes, which had wore with many of the enemy's 



$6 SOUTHEY*S LIFE OF NELSON. 

ships, was under his lee bow, and standing to leeward. The 
admiral at the same time made the signal for the van ships to 
join him. Upon this Nelson bore away and prepared to set all 
sail, and the enemy, having saved their ship, hauled close to 
the wind, and opened upon him a distant and ineffectual fire. 
Only seven of the Agamemno7i^ s men were hurt — a thing which 
Nelson himself remarked as wonderful ;.her sails and rigging 
were very much cut, and she had many shots in her hull, and 
some between wind and w^ater. The Qa Ira lost no men that 
day, and was so cut up that she could not get a topmast aloft 
during the night. 

At daylight on the following morning the English ships were 
taken aback with a fine breeze at N.W., while the enemy's fleet 
kept the southerly wind. The body of their fleet was about 
five miles distant ; the Qa Ira and the Censeur^ seventy-four, 
which had her in tow, about three and a half. All sail was 
made to cut these ships oif, and as the French attempted to 
save them, a partial action was brought on. The Agamemnon 
was again engaged with her yesterday's antagonist, but she had 
to fight on both sides the ship at the same time. The Qa Ira 
and the Ce7iseur fought most gallantly : the first lost nearly 300 
men in addition to her former loss ; the last, 350. Both at 
last struck, and Lieutenant Andrews, of the Agamernnon, — 
brother to a lady to whom Nelson had become attached in 
France, and, in Nelson's own words, " as gallant an officer as 
ever stepped a quarter-deck," — hoisted English colors on 
board them both. 

The rest of the enemy's ships behaved very ill. As soon as 
these vessels had struck. Nelson went to Admiral Hotham, and 
proposed that the two prizes should be left with the Illustrious 
and Courageux, which had been crippled in the action, and with 
four frigates, and that the rest of the fleet should pursue the 
enemy, and follow up the advantage to the utmost. But his 
reply was : '' We must be contented ; we have done very well." 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 5/ 

— "Now," said Nelson, "had we taken ten sail and allowed 
the eleventh to escape, when it had been possible to have got 
at her, I could never have called it well done. Goodall backed 
me : I got him to write to the admiral, but it would not do. 
We should have had such a day as, I believe, the annals of 
England never produced." In this letter the character of 
Nelson fully manifests itself. " I wish," said he " to be an 
admiral, and in the command of the English fleet : I should 
very soon either do much or be ruined : my disposition cannot 
bear tame and slow measures. Sure I am, had I commanded 
on the 14th, that either the whole French fleet would have 
graced my triumph, or I should have been in a confounded 
scrape." What the event would have been he knew from his 
prophetic feelings and his own consciousness of power ; and we 
also know it now, for Aboukir and Trafalgar have told it us. 

About this time Nelson was made colonel of marines, a 
mark of approbation which he had long wished for rather than 
expected. It came in good season, for his spirits were oppressed 
by the thought that his services had not been acknowledged as 
they deserved. 

He now entered upon a new line of service. The Austrian 
and Sardinian armies, under General de Vins, required a 
British squadron to cooperate with them in driving the French 
from the Riviera di Genoa, and as Nelson had been so much 
in the habit of soldiering, it was immediately fixed that the 
brigadier should go. He sailed from St. Fiorenzo on this 
destination, but fell in, off Cape del Mele, with the enemy's 
fleet, who immediately gave his squadron chase. The chase 
lasted four-and-twenty hours, and owing to the fickleness of 
the wind the British ships were somewhat hard pressed, but 
the want of skill on the part of the French gave them many 
advantages. Nelson bent his way back to St. Fiorenzo, where 
the fleet, which was in the midst of watering and refitting, had, 
for seven hours the mortification of seeing him almost in pos- 



58 southey's life of nelson. / 

session of the enemy before the wind would allow them to put 
out to his assistance. The French, however, at evening went 
off, not choosing to approach nearer the shore. 

During the night, Admiral Hotham, by great exertions, got 
under way, and having sought the enemy four days, came in 
sight of them on the fifth. Baffling winds and vexatious calms, 
so common in the Mediterranean, rendered it impossible to 
close with them ; only a partial action could be brought on, 
and then the firing made a perfect calm. The French being 
to windward, drew inshore ; and the English fleet was becalmed 
six or seven miles to the westward. L ^Alcide, of seventy-four 
guns, struck .; but before she could be taken possession of, a 
box of combustibles in her fore-top took fire, and the unhappy 
crew experienced how far more perilous their inventions were 
to themselves than to their enemies. So rapid was the con- 
flagration, that the French in their official account say the hull, 
the masts, and sails all seemed to take fire at the same 
moment, and though the English boats were put out to the 
assistance of the poor wretches on board, not more than 200 
could be saved. The Agamemnon, and Captain Rowley in the 
Cumberlajtd, were just getting into close action a second time 
when the admiral called them off, the wind now being directly 
into the Gulf of Ere jus, where the enemy anchored after the 
evening closed. 

Nelson now proceeded to his station with eight sail of 
frigates under his command. Arriving at Genoa, he had a 
conference with Mr. Drake, the British envoy to that State, 
the result of which was that the object of the British must be 
to put an entire stop to all trade between Genoa, France, and 
the places occupied by the French troops ; for unless this trade 
was stopped, it would be scarcely possible for the allied armies 
to hold their situation, and impossible for them to make any 
progress in driving the enemy out of the Riviera di Genoa. 
Mr. Drake was of opinion that even Nice might fall for want 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 59 

of supplies if the trade with Genoa were cut off. This sort of 
blockade Nelson could not carry on without great risk to him- 
self. A captain in the navy, as he represented to the envoy, is 
liable to prosecution for detention and damages. 

When Nelson first saw General de Vins he thought him an 
able man, who was willing to act with vigor. The general 
charged his inactivity upon the Piedmontese and Neapolitans, 
whom, he said, nothing could induce to act ; and he concerted 
a plan with Nelson for embarking a part of the Austrian army, 
and landing it in the rear of the French. But the English 
commodore soon began to suspect that the Austrian general 
was little disposed to any active operations. In the hope of 
spurring him on, he wrote to him, telling him that he had 
surveyed the coast to the westward as far as Nice, and would 
undertake to embark four or five thousand men, with their 
arms and a few days' provisions, on board the squadron, and 
land them within two miles of St. Remo, with their field-pieces. 
Respecting farther provisions for the Austrian army, he would 
provide convoys, that they should arrive in safety, and if a 
reembarkation should be found necessary, he would cover 
it with the squadron. The possession of St. Remo, as head- 
quarters for magazines of every kind, would enable the 
Austrian general to turn his army to the eastward or west- 
ward. The enemy at Oneglia would be cut off from provisions, 
and men could be landed to attack that place whenever it was 
judged necessary. 

St. Remo was the only place between Vado and Ville Franche 
where the squadron could lie in safety, and anchor in almost 
all winds. The bay was not so good as Vado for large ships, 
but it had a mole, which Vado had not, where all small vessels 
could lie, and load and unload their cargoes. This bay being 
in possession of the allies, Nice could be completely blockaded 
by sea. General de Vins, affecting in his reply to consider 
that Nelson's proposal had no other end than that of obtaining 



6o southey's life of nelson. 

the bay of St. Remo as a station for the ships, told him, what 
he well knew and had expressed before, that Vado Bay was a 
better anchorage ; nevertheless, if " Monsieur le Commandant 
Nelson " was well assured that part of the fleet could winter 
there, there was no risk to which he would not expose himself 
with pleasure for the sake of procuring a safe station for the 
vessels of his Britannic Majesty. Nelson soon assured the 
Austrian commander that this was not the object of his 
memorial. He now began to suspect that both the Austrian 
Court and their general had other ends in view than the cause 
of the allies. 

" This army," said he, " is slow beyond all description, and 
I begin to think that the Emperor is anxious to touch another 
four millions of English money. As for the German generals, 
war is their trade, and peace is ruin to them ; therefore we 
cannot expect that they should have any wish to finish the 
war. The politics of courts are so mean that private people 
would be ashamed to act in the same way : all is trick and 
finesse, to which the common cause is sacrificed. The general 
wants a loophole ; it has for some time appeared to me that he 
means to go no farther than his present position, and to lay the 
miscarriage of the enterprise against Nice, which has always 
been held out as the great object of his army, to the non- 
cooperation of the British fleet and of the Sardinians." 

To prevent this plea. Nelson again addressed De Vins, 
requesting only to know the time, and the number of troops 
ready to embark ; then he would, he said, dispatch a ship to 
Admiral Hotham, requesting transports, having no doubt of 
obtaining them, and trusting that the plan would be successful 
to its fullest extent. Nelson thought at the time that if the 
whole fleet were offered him for transports he would find some 
other excuse, and Mr. Drake, who was now appointed to reside 
at the Austrian headquarters, entertained the same idea of the 
general's sincerity. It was not, however, put so clearly to the 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 6 1 

proof as it ought to have been. He replied that as soon as 
Nelson could declare himself ready with the vessels necessary 
for conveying 10,000 men, with their artillery and baggage, he 
would put the army in motion. But Nelson was not enabled 
to do this. Admiral Hotham, who was highly meritorious in 
leaving such a man so much at his own discretion, pursued a 
cautious system, ill according with the bold and comprehen- 
sive views of Nelson, who continually regretted Lord Hood, 
saying that the nation had suffered much by his resignation of 
the Mediterranean command. The plan which had been con- 
certed, he said, would astonish the French, and perhaps the 
English. 

There was no unity in the views of the allied powers, no 
cordiality in their cooperation, no energy in their councils. 
The neutral powers assisted France more effectually than the 
allies assisted each other. The Genoese ports were at this time 
filled with French privateers, which swarmed out every night 
and covered the gulf ; and French vessels were allowed to tow 
out of the port of Genoa itself, board vessels which were coming 
in, and then return into the mole. This was allowed without 
a remonstrance, while, though Nelson abstained most carefully 
from offering any offense to the Genoese territory or flag, 
complaints were so repeatedly made against his squadron, 
that, he says, it seemed a trial who should be tired first, they 
of complaining, or he of answering their complaints. 

But the question of neutrality was soon at an end. An 
Austrian commissary was traveling from Genoa towards Vado ; 
it was known that he was to sleep at Voltri, and that he had 
^10,000 with him — a booty which the French minister in that 
city, and a captain of a French frigate in that port, considered 
as far more important than the word of honor of the one, the 
duties of the other, and the laws of neutrality. The boats of 
the frigate went out with some privateers, landed, robbed the 
commissary, and brought back the money to Genoa. The next 



62 southey's life of nelson. 

day men were publicly enlisted in that city for the French 
army; 700 men were embarked, with 7000 stands of arms, on 
board the frigates and other vessels, who were to land between 
Voltri and Savona. There a detachment from the French 
army was to join them, and the Genoese peasantry were to be 
invited to insurrection — a measure for which everything had 
been prepared. The night of the 13th was fixed for the sailing 
of this expedition ; the Austrians called loudly for Nelson to 
prevent it ; and he, on the evening of the 13th, arrived at 
Genoa. His presence checked the plan : the frigate, knowing 
her deserts, got within the merchant ships in the inner mole, 
and the Genoese government did not now even demand of 
Nelson repect to the neutral port, knowing that they had 
allowed, if not connived at, a flagrant breach of neutrality, and 
expecting the answer which he was prepared to return, that it 
was useless and impossible for him to respect it longer. 

But though this movement produced the immediate effect 
which was designed, it led to ill consequences which Nelson 
foresaw, but for want of sufficient force was unable to prevent. 
His squadron was too small for the service which it had to 
perform. He required two seventy-fours and eight or ten 
frigates and sloops ; but when he demanded this reinforcement, 
Admiral Hotham had left the command. Sir Hyde Parker 
succeeded till the new commander should arrive, and he 
immediately reduced it almost to nothing, leaving him only 
one frigate and a brig. This was a fatal error. While the 
Austrian and Sardinian troops, whether from the imbecility or 
the treachery of their leaders, remained inactive, the French 
were preparing for the invasion of Italy. Not many days 
before Nelson was thus summoned to Genoa he chased a 
large convoy into Alassio. Twelve vessels he had formerly 
destroyed in that port, though 2000 French troops occupied the 
town : this former attack had made them take new measures 
of defense, and there were now above one hundred sail of 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 63 

victualers, gunboats, and ships of war. Nelson represented 
to the admiral how important it was to destroy these vessels ; 
and offered, with his squadron of frigates and the Culloden and 
Courageux, to lead himself in the Agamemnon, and take or 
destroy the whole. The attempt was not permitted, but it was 
Nelson's belief that if it had been made it would have prevented 
the attack upon the Austrian army, which took place almost 
immediately afterwards. 

General de Vins demanded satisfaction of the Genoese 
government for the seizure of his commissary, and then, 
without waiting for their reply, took possession of some empty 
magazines of the French and pushed his sentinels to the very 
gates of Genoa. Had he done so at first he would have found 
the magazines full ; but, timed as the measure was, and useless 
as it was to the cause of the allies, it was in character with 
the whole of the Austrian general's conduct ; and it is no small 
proof of the dexterity with which he served the enemy, that in 
such circumstances he could so act with Genoa as to contrive 
to put himself in the wrong. Nelson was at this time, accord- 
ing to his own expression, placed in a cleft stick. Mr. Drake, 
the Austrian minister, and the Austrian general all joined 
in requiring him not to leave Genoa. If he left that port 
unguarded, they said, not only the imperial troops at St. Pier 
d' Arena and Voltri would be lost, but the French plan for 
taking post between Voltri and Savona would certainly suc- 
ceed ; if the Austrians should be worsted in the advanced 
posts, the retreat by the Bocchetta would be cut off, and if this 
happened, the loss of the army would be imputed to him for 
having left Genoa. 

On the other hand, he knew that if he were not at Pietra 
the enemy's gunboats would harass the left flank of the Aus- 
trians, who, if they were defeated, as was to be expected from 
the spirit of all their operations, would very probably lay their 
defeat to the want of assistance from the Aga77iemnoti. Had 



64 SOUTHEY's LIFE OF NELSON. 

the force for which Nelson applied been given him, he could 
have attended to both objects ; and had he been permitted to 
attack the convoy in Alassio he would have disconcerted the 
plans of the French in spite of the Austrian general. He had 
foreseen the danger and pointed out how it might be prevented, 
but the means of preventing it were withheld. The attack was 
made, as he foresaw, and the gunboats brought their fire to 
bear upon the Austrians. It so happened, however, that the 
left flank, which was exposed to them, was the only part of the 
army that behaved well. This division stood its ground till 
the center and the right wing fled, and then retreated in a 
soldier-like manner. General de Vins gave up the command 
in the middle of the battle, pleading ill health. 

"From that moment," says Nelson, "not a soldier stayed at 
his post. Many thousands ran away who had never seen the 
enemy ; some of them thirty miles from the advanced posts. 
Had I not — though I own against my inclination — been kept 
at Genoa, from eight to ten thousand men would have been 
taken prisoners, and amongst the number General de Vins 
himself ; but by this means the pass of Bocchetta was kept 
open. The purser of the ship, who was at Vado, ran with the 
Austrians eighteen miles without stopping : the men without 
arms, officers without soldiers, women without assistance. The 
oldest officers say they never heard of so complete a defeat, 
and certainly without any reason. Thus has ended my cam- 
paign. We have established the French Republic, which but 
for us, I verily believe, would never have been settled by such 
a volatile, changeable people." 

The defeat of General de Vins gave the enemy possession of 
the Genoese coast from Savona to Voltri, and it deprived the 
Austrians of their direct communication with the English fleet. 
The Agamemnon, therefore, could no longer be useful on this 
station, and Nelson sailed for Leghorn to refit. When his 
ship went into dock there was not a mast, yard, sail, or any 



FIRST SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 65 

part of the rigging but what stood in need of repair, having 
been cut to pieces with shot. The hull was so damaged that 
it had for some time been secured by cables, which were 
served or thrapped ^ round it. 

^ Thrapped. — Probably meant for " f rapped." To frap a vessel is to 
bind cables tightly round it in order to strengthen it. 

The subsequent history of this famous old naval vessel is interesting : 
"The Agamemnon, or, as she was humorously styled by the seamen, the 
' Old Eggs-and-Bacon,' was wrecked when under the command of Captain 
Rose in Maldonado Bay, in the river Plate. This happened on the 20th of 
June, in the year 1809. Many of Nelson's hardy tars were still on board 
of her ; and I well remember witnessing the distress pictured on many a 
furrowed countenance, as they were compelled to quit a ship so powerfully 
endeared to them by old associations. The address of Captain Rose, 
previously to their being distributed amongst the fleet (under Admiral 
Courcy), drew tears from many an eye that had looked undismayed at 
danger, even when death appeared inevitable." — The Old Sailor. 



CHAPTER IV. 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 



SIR JOHN JERVIS had now arrived to take the command 
of the Mediterranean fleet. The Aga7nenmon having, as 
her captain said, been made as fit for sea as a rotten ship 
could be. Nelson sailed from Leghorn, and joined the admiral 
in Fiorenzo Bay. " I found him," said he, " anxious to know 
many things, which I was a good deal surprised to find had 
not been communicated to him by others in the fleet ; and it 
would appear that he was so well satisfied with my opinion 
of what is likely to happen, and the means of prevention to be 
taken, that he had no reserve with me respecting his informa- 
tion and ideas of what is likely to be done." 

The manner in which Nelson was received is said to have 
excited some envy. One captain observed to him : " You did 
just as you pleased in Lord Hood's time, the same in Admiral 
Hotham's, and now again with Sir John Jervis : it makes no 
difference to you who is commander-in-chief." A higher 
compliment could not have been paid to any commander-in 
chief than to say of him that he understood the merits of 
Nelson, and left him, as far as possible, to act upon his own 
judgment. 

Sir John Jervis offered him the St. George, ninety, or the 
Zealous, seventy-four, and asked if he should have any objec- 
tion to serve under him with his flag. He replied, that if the 
Agamemno?t were ordered home, and his flag were not arrived, 
he should on many accounts wish to return to England ; still, 
if the war continued, he should be very proud of hoisting his 
flag under Sir John's command. *'We cannot spare you," said 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 6/ 

Sir John, "either as captain or admiral." Accordingly, he 
resumed his station in the Gulf of Genoa. 

General Beaulieu, who had now superseded de Vins in the 
command of the allied Austrian and Sardinian army, sent his 
nephew and aide-de-camp to communicate with Nelson, and 
inquire whether he could anchor in any other place than Vado 
Bay. Nelson replied that Vado was the only place where the 
British fleet could lie in safety, but all places would suit his 
squadron, and wherever the general came down to the sea- 
coast there he should find it. The Austrian repeatedly asked 
if there was not a risk of losing the squadron, and was con- 
stantly answered that if these ships should be lost the admiral 
would find others. But all plans of cooperation with the 
Austrians were soon frustrated by the battle of Montenotte. 
Beaulieu ordered an attack to be made upon the post of Voltri ; 
it was made twelve hours before the time which he had fixed, 
and before he arrived to direct it. In consequence, the French 
were enabled to effect their retreat, and fall back to Monte- 
notte, thus giving the troops there a decisive superiority in 
number over the division which attacked them. This drew on 
the defeat of the Austrians. Bonaparte, with a celerity which 
had never before been witnessed in modern war, pursued his 
advantages, and in the course of a fortnight dictated to the 
Court of Turin terms of peace, or rather of submission, by 
which all the strongest places of Piedmont were put into his 
hands. 

On one occasion, and only on one, Nelson was able to 
impede the progress of this new conqueror. Six vessels, laden 
with cannon and ordnance stores for the siege of Mantua, 
sailed from Toulon for St. Pier d' Arena. Assisted by Captain 
Cockburn in the Meleager, he drove them under a battery, 
pursued them, silenced the batteries, and captured the whole. 
Military books, plans, and maps of Italy, with the different 
points marked upon them where former battles had been 



6S southey's life of nelson. 

fought, sent by the Directory for Bonaparte's use, were found 
in the convoy. The loss of this artillery was one of the chief 
causes which compelled the French to raise the siege of 
Mantua ; but there was too much treachery and too much 
imbecility, both in the councils and armies of the Allied 
Powers, for Austria to improve this momentary success. 

Bonaparte perceived that the conquest of all Italy was within 
his reach ; treaties and rights of neutral or friendly powers 
were as little regarded by him as by the government for which 
he acted. In open contempt of both, he entered Tuscany and 
took possession of Leghorn. In consequence of this movement 
Nelson blockaded that port, and landed a British force in the 
isle of Elba, to secure Porto Ferrajo. Soon afterwards he took 
the island of Capraja, which had formerly belonged to Corsica, 
being less than forty miles distant from it; a distance, however, 
short as it was, which enabled the Genoese to retain it, after 
their infamous sale of Corsica to France. 

Genoa had now taken part with France ; its government 
had long covertly assisted the French, and now willingly 
yielded to the first compulsory menace which required them 
to exclude the English from their ports. Capraja was seized 
in consequence, but this act of vigor was not followed up as 
it ought to have been. England at that time depended too 
much upon the feeble governments of the Continent and too 
little upon itself. It was determined by the British Cabinet 
to evacuate Corsica as soon as Spain should form an offensive 
alliance with France. This event, which, from the moment 
that Spain had been compelled to make peace, was clearly 
foreseen, had now taken place, and orders for the evacuation 
of the island were immediately sent out. It was impolitic to 
annex this island to the British dominions, but having done so, 
it was disgraceful thus to abandon it. The disgrace would 
have been spared, and every advantage which could have been 
derived from the possession of the island secured, if the people 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 69. 

had at first been left to form a government for themselves, and 
protected by us in the enjoyment of their independence. 

The viceroy, Sir Gilbert Elliott, deeply felt the impolicy and 
ignominy of this evacuation. The fleet also was ordered to 
leave the Mediterranean. This resolution was so contrary to 
the last instructions which had been received that Nelson 
exclaimed, " Do his Majesty's ministers know their own minds? 
They at home," said he, " do not know what this fleet is cap- 
able of performing — anything and everything. Much as I shall 
rejoice to see England, I lament our present orders in sackcloth 
and ashes, so dishonorable to the dignity of England, whose 
fleets are equal to meet the world in arms ; and of all the fleets 
I ever saw, I never beheld one in point of oflicers and men 
equal to Sir John Jervis's, who is a commander-in-chief able 
to lead them to glory." 

Sir Gilbert Elliott believed that the great body of the Corsi- 
cans were perfectly satisfied, as they had good reason to be, 
with the British government, sensible of its advantages, and 
attached to it. However this may have been, when they found 
that the English intended to evacuate the island, they naturally 
and necessarily sent to make their peace with the French. The 
partisans of France found none to oppose them. A committee 
of thirty took upon them the government of Bastia, and seques- 
trated all the British property: armed Corsicans mounted guard 
at every place, and a plan was laid for seizing the viceroy. 
Nelson, who was appointed to superintend the evacuation, frus- 
trated these projects. At a time when every one else despaired 
of saving stores, cannon, provisions, or property of any kind, 
and a privateer was moored across the mole-head tp prevent all 
boats from passing, he sent word to the committee that if the 
slightest opposition were made to the embarkment and removal 
of British property he would batter the town down. The pri- 
vateer pointed her guns at the ofiicer who carried this message, 
and muskets were leveled against his boats from the mole-head. 



JO SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Upon this, Captain Sutton, of the Egmont^ pulling out his 
watch, gave them a quarter of an hour to deliberate upon their 
answer; in five minutes after the expiration of that time the 
ships, he said, would open their fire. Upon this the very- 
sentinels scampered off, and every vessel came out of the 
mole. 

A shipowner complained to the commodore that the muni- 
cipality refused to let him take his goods out of the custom 
house. Nelson directed him to say that unless they were 
instantly delivered he would open his fire. The committee 
turned pale, and without answering a word gave him the keys. 
Their last attempt was to levy a duty upon the things that 
were reembarked. He sent them word that he would pay 
them a disagreeable visit if there were any more complaints. 
The committee then finding that they had to deal with a man 
who knew his own power and was determined to make the 
British name respected, desisted from the insolent conduct 
which they had assumed, ; and it was acknowledged that Bastia 
never had been so quiet and orderly since the English were in 
possession of it. This was on the 14th of October : during the 
five following days the work of embarkation was carried on, 
the private property was saved, and public stores to the amount 
of ^200,000. 

The French, favored by the Spanish fleet, which was at 
that time within twelve leagues of Bastia, pushed over troops 
from Leghorn, who landed near Cape Corse on the i8th, and 
on the 20th, at one in the morning, entered the citadel, an 
hour only after the British had spiked the guns and evacuated 
it. Nelson embarked at daybreak, being the last person who 
left the shore, — having thus, as he said, seen the first and the 
last of Corsica. 

Having thus ably effected this humiliating service Nelson 
was ordered to hoist his broad pendant on board the Minerve 
frigate. Captain George Cockburn, and with the Blanche under 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 7 1 

his command proceed to Porto Ferrajo, and superintend the 
evacuation of that place also. On his way he fell in with two 
Spanish frigates, the Sabina and the Ceres. The Minerve 
engaged the former, which was commanded by Don Jacobo 
Stuart, a descendant of the Duke of Berwick. After an action 
of three hours, during which the Spaniards lost 164 men, the 
Sabina struck. The Spanish captain, who was the only surviv- 
ing officer, had hardly been conveyed on board the Minerve 
when another enemy's frigate came up, compelled her to cast 
off the prize, and brought her a second time to action. After 
half an hour's trial of strength, this new antagonist wore and 
hauled off ; but a Spanish squadron of two ships of the line and 
two frigates came in sight. The Blanche^ from which the Ceres 
had got off, was far to windward, and the Mine?^ve escaped only 
by the anxiety of the enemy to recover their own ship. As 
soon as Nelson reached Porto Ferrajo he sent his prisoner in a 
flag of truce to Carthagena, having returned him his sword. 
This he did in honor of the gallantry which Don Jacobo had 
displayed, and not without some feeling of respect for his 
ancestry. " I felt it," said he, " consonant to the dignity of 
my country, and I always act as I feel right, without regard to 
custom. He was reputed the best officer in Spain, and his men 
were worthy of such a commander." By the same flag of truce 
he sent back all the Spanish prisoners at Porto Ferrajo, in 
exchange for whom he received his own men who had been 
taken in the prize. 

Nelson's mind had long been irritated and depressed by the 
fear that a general action would take place before he could 
join the fleet. At length he sailed from Porto Ferrajo with a 
convoy for Gibraltar, and having reached that place proceeded 
to the westward in search of the admiral. Off the mouth of 
the Straits he fell in with the Spanish fleet, and on the 13th 
of February, reaching the station off Cape St. Vincent, com- 
municated this intelligence to Sir John Jervis. He was now 



72 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. . 

directed to shift his broad pendant on board the Captain, 
seventy-four, Captain R. W. Miller, and before sunset the 
signal was made to prepare for action, and to keep during the 
night in close order. At daybreak the enemy were in sight. 
The British force consisted of two ships of one hundred guns, 
two of ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of seventy-four, and 
one of sixty-four — fifteen of the line in all, with four frigates, 
a sloop, and a cutter. The Spaniards had one four-decker of 
one hundred and thirty-six guns, six three-deckers of one 
hundred and twelve, two eighty-fours, eighteen seventy-fours 
— in all twenty-seven ships of the line, with ten frigates and 
a brig. Their admiral, Don Joseph de Cordova, had learnt 
from an American on the 5th that the English had only nine 
ships, which was indeed the case when his informer had seen 
them, for a reinforcement of five ships from England, under 
Admiral Parker, had not then joined, and the Ciclloden had 
parted company. 

Upon this information, the Spanish commander, instead of 
going into Cadiz, as was his intention when he sailed from 
Carthagena, determined to seek an enemy so inferior in force, 
and relying with fatal confidence upon the American account, 
he suffered his ships to remain too far dispersed and in some 
disorder. When the morning of the 14th broke and dis- 
covered the English fleet, a fog for some time concealed their 
number. The lookout ship of the Spaniards, fancying that 
her signal was disregarded because so little notice seemed to 
be taken of it, made another signal that the English force con- 
sisted of forty sail of the line. The captain afterwards said 
he did this to rouse the admiral. It had the effect of perplexing 
him and alarming the whole fleet. The absurdity of such an 
act shows what was the state of the Spanish navy under that 
miserable government by which Spain was so long oppressed 
and degraded, and finally betrayed. In reality, the general 
incapacity of the naval officers was so well known, that in a 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 73 

pasquinade/ which about this time appeared at Madrid, 
wherein the different orders of the State were advertised for 
sale, the greater part of the sea officers, with all their equip- 
ments, were offered as a gift, and it was added that any person 
who would please to take them should receive a handsome 
gratuity. 

Before the enemy could form a regular order of battle. Sir 
John Jervis, by carrying a press of sail, came up with them, 
passed through their fleet, then tacked, and thus cut off nine 
of their ships from the main body. These ships attempted to 
form on the larboard tack, either with a design of passing 
through the British line, or to leeward of it, and thus rejoining 
their friends. Only one of them succeeded in this attempt, 
and that only because she was so covered with smoke that her 
intention was not discovered till she had reached the rear ; 
the others were so warmly received that they put about, took 
to flight, and did not appear again in the action till its close. 
The admiral was now able to direct his attention to the 
enemy's main body, which was still superior in number to his 
whole fleet, and more so in weight of metal. He made signal 
to tack in succession. Nelson, whose station was in the rear 
of the British line, perceived that the Spaniards were bearing 
up before the wind, with an intention of forming their line, 
going large, and joining their separated ships, or else of getting 
off without an engagement. To prevent either of these schemes 
he disobeyed the signal without a moment's hesitation, and 
ordered his ship to be wore. This at once brought him into 
action with the Satitissima Trinidad^ one hundred and thirty- 
six, the Sa7i Joseph^ one hundred and twelve, the Salvador del 
Mundo, one hundred and twelve, the Sa7i Nicolas^ eighty, the 
San Isidro, seventy-four, another seventy-four, and another 
first-rate. Trowbridge, in the Culloden^ immediately joined 
and most nobly supported him, and for nearly an hour did the 

1 Pasquinade. — A lampoon. 



74 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Culloden and Captain maintain what Nelson called " this 
apparently but not really unequal contest " — such was the 
advantage of skill and discipline, and the confidence which 
brave men derive from them. 

The Blenheim then passing between them and the enemy, 
gave them a respite, and poured in her fire upon the Spaniards. 
The Salvador del Mundo and San Isidro dropped astern, and 
were fired into in a masterly style by the Excellent^ Captain 
Collingwood. The San Isidro struck, and Nelson thought 
that the Salvador struck also. " But Collingwood," says he, 
*' disdaining the parade of taking possession of beaten enemies, 
most gallantly pushed up, with every sail set, to save his old 
friend and messmate, who was to every appearance in a critical 
situation," for the Captain was at this time actually fired upon 
by three first-rates, by the Saft Nicolas, and by a seventy-four, 
within about pistol-shot of that vessel. The Blenheim was 
ahead, the Culloden crippled and astern. Collingwood ranged 
up, and hauling up his mainsail just astern, passed within ten 
feet of the San Nicolas, giving her a most tremendous fire, then 
passed on for the Santissima Trinidad. The San Nicolas luffing 
up, the San Joseph fell on board of her, and Nelson resumed 
his station abreast of them, and close alongside. The Captain 
was now incapable of farther service either in the line or in 
chase ; she had lost her foretopmast ; not a sail, shroud, or 
rope was left, and her wheel was shot away. Nelson therefore 
directed Captain Miller to put the helm a-starboard, and calling 
for the boarders, ordered them to board. 

Captain Berry, who had lately been Nelson's first lieutenant, 
was the first man who leaped into the enemy's mizzen-chains. 
Miller, when in the very act of going, was ordered by Nelson 
to remain.^ Berry was supported from the spritsail-yard, 

1 Ordered to remain. — " While Captain Miller was leading his men to 
the San Nicolas, Commodore Nelson said, ' No, Miller ; I must have that 
honor'; and on going into the cabin, after the contest, Nelson said, ' Miller, 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 75 

which locked in the San Nicolas' s main rigging. A soldier of 
the 69th broke the upper quarter-gallery window and jumped 
in, followed by the commodore himself, and by others as fast 
as possible. The cabin doors were fastened, and the Spanish 
officers fired their pistols at them through the window ; the 
doors were soon forced, and the Spanish brigadier fell while 
retreating to the quarter-deck. Nelson pushed on, and found 
Berry in possession of the poop, and the Spanish ensign haul- 
ing down. He passed on to the forecastle, where he met two 
or three Spanish officers, and received their swords. The 
English were now in full possession of every part of the ship, 
and a fire of pistols and musketry opened upon them from 
the admiral's stern gallery of the San Joseph. 

Nelson having placed sentinels at the different ladders, and 
ordered Captain Miller to send more men into the prize, gave 
orders for boarding that ship from the San Nicolas. It was 
done in an instant, he himself leading the way, and exclaiming, 
" Westminster Abbey,^ or victory ! " Berry assisted him into 
the main-chains, and at that very moment a Spanish officer 
looked over the quarter-deck rail and said they surrendered. 
It was not long before he was on the quarter-deck, where the 
Spanish captain presented to, him his sword, and told him the 
admiral was below, dying of his wounds. There, on the 
quarter-deck of an enemy's first-rate, he received the swords of 
the officers, giving them as they were delivered, one by one, to 
William Fearney, one of his old '''^ Agameninons,^'' who with the 
utmost coolness put them under his arm. One of his sailors 

I am under the greatest obligation to you,' and presented him with the 
Spanish captain's sword; and then, as if he could not sufficiently show his 
sense of his captain's services, he again expressed his obligation, and draw- 
ing a ring from his finger, placed it on Captain Miller's." — Nelson's 
Dispatches. 

^ Westminster Abbey. — The burial-place of England's great men. 
Hence, to conquer or die. That Nelson made use of these words on this 
occasion is very doubtful. 



76 southey's life of nelson. 

came up, and with an Englishman's feeUng took him by the 
hand, saying he might not soon have such another place to do 
it in, and he was heartily glad to see him there. Twenty-four 
of the Captain'' s men were killed and fifty-six wounded, a fourth 
part of the loss sustained by the whole squadron falling upon 
this ship. Nelson received only a few bruises. 

The Spaniards had^ still eighteen or nineteen ships which 
had suffered little or no injury ; that part of the fleet which 
had been separated from the main body in the morning was 
now coming up, and Sir John Jervis made signal to bring-to. 
His ships could not have formed without abandoning those 
which they had captured, and running to leeward ; the Captain 
was lying a perfect wreck on board her two prizes, and many 
of the other vessels were so shattered in their masts and rigging 
as to be wholly unmanageable. The Spanish admiral mean- 
time, according to his official account, being altogether unde- 
cided in his own opinion respecting the state of the fleet, 
inquired of his captains whether it was proper to renew the 
action ; nine of them answered explicitly that it was not, 
others replied that it was expedient to delay the business. The 
Fdayo and the P7'i7icipe Conquistador were the only ships that 
were for fighting. 

As soon as the action was discontinued Nelson went on 
board the admiral's ship. Sir John Jervis received him on 
the quarter-deck, took him in his arms, and said he could not 
sufficiently thank him. For this victory the commander-in-chief 
was rewarded with the title Earl St. Vincent.^ Nelson, who, 

1 In the official letter of Sir John Jervis, Nelson was not mentioned. It 
is said that the admiral had seen an instance of the ill consequence of such 
selections after Lord Howe's victory, and therefore would not name any 
individual, thinking it proper to speak to the public only in terms of gen- 
eral approbation. His private letter to the First Lord of the Admiralty, 
was, with his consent, published, for the first time, in a " Life of Nelson " 
by Mr. Harrison. Here it is said that " Commodore Nelson, who was in 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 77 

before the action was known in England, had been advanced 
to the rank of rear-admiral, had the Order of the Bath^ 
given him. The sword of the Spanish rear-admiral, which Sir 
John Jervis insisted upon his keeping, he presented to the 
mayor and corporation of Norwich, saying that he knew no 
place where it could give him or his family more pleasure 
to have it kept than in the capital city of the county where he 

the rear on the starboard tack, took the lead on the larboard, and contri- 
buted very much to the fortune of the day." It is also said that he 
boarded the two Spanish ships successively ; but the fact that Nelson wore 
without orders, and thus planned as well as accomplished the victory, is not 
explicitly stated. Perhaps it was thought proper to pass over this part of 
his conduct in silence as a splendid fault ; but such an example is not dan- 
gerous. The author of the work in which this letter was first made public 
protests against those over-zealous friends "who would make the action 
rather appear as Nelson's battle than that of the illustrious commander-in- 
chief who derives from it so deservedly his title. No man," he says, " ever 
less needed, or less desired, to strip a single le^f from the honored wreath 
of any other hero, with the vain hope of augmenting his own, than the 
immortal Nelson ; no man ever more merited the whole of that which a 
generous nation unanimously presented to Sir J. Jervis than the Earl St. 
Vincent." Certainly Earl St. Vincent well deserved the reward which he 
received ; but it is not detracting from his merit to say that Nelson is as 
fully entitled to as much fame from this action as the commander-in-chief, 
not because the brunt of the action fell upon him, not because he was 
engaged with all the four ships which were taken, and took two of them, it 
may also be said, with his own hand ; but because the decisive movement 
which enabled him to perform all this, and by which the action became a 
victory, was executed in neglect of orders, and upon his own judgment and 
at his peril. Earl St. Vincent deserved his earldom ; but it is not to the 
honor of those by whom titles were distributed in those days that Nelson 
never obtained the rank of earl for either of those victories which he lived 
to enjoy, though the one was the most complete and glorious in the annals 
of naval history, and the other the most important in its consequences of 
any which was achieved during the whole war. 

1 Order of the Bath. — Made a knight of the Order of the Bath. At an 
inauguration of a knight in olden times the candidate took a bath, as a 
part of the ceremony. 



78 southey's life of nelson. 

was born. The freedom of that city was voted him on this 
occasion. But of all the numerous congratulations which he 
received none could have affected him more deeply than that 
which came from his venerable father. " I thank my God," 
said that excellent man, " with all the power of a grateful soul, 
for the mercies he has most graciously bestowed on me in 
preserving you. Not only my few acquaintance here, but the 
people in general, met me at every corner with such hand- 
some words that I was obliged to retire from the public eye. 
The height of glory to which your professional judgment, 
united with a proper degree of bravery, guarded by Provi- 
dence, has raised you, few sons, my dear child, attain to, and 
fewer fathers live to see. Tears of joy have involuntarily 
trickled down my furrowed cheeks. Who could stand the 
force of such general congratulation ? The name and services 
of Nelson have sounded throughout this city of Bath, from the 
common ballad-singer to the public theatre." The good old 
man concluded by telling him that the field of glory, in which 
he had been so long conspicuous, was still open, and by giving 
him his blessing. 

Sir Horatio, who had now hoisted his flag as rear-admiral of 
the blue, was sent to bring away the troops from Porto Ferrajo; 
having performed this, he shifted his flag to the Theseus. That 
ship had taken part in the mutiny^ in England, and being just 
arrivecj from home, some danger was apprehended from the 
temper of the men. This was one reason why Nelson was 
removed to her. He had not been on board many weeks before 
a paper, signed in the name of all the ship's company, was 
dropped on the quarter-deck, containing these words : " Success 
attend Admiral Nelson ! God bless Captain Miller ! We thank 
them for the officers they have placed over us. We are happy 
and comfortable, and will shed every drop of blood in our veins 

1 Mutiny. — Reference is made to the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 79 

to support them ; and the name of the Theseus shall be immor- 
talized as high as her captain's." ^ 

Wherever Nelson commanded the men soon became attached 
to him : in ten days' time he would have restored the most 
mutinous ship in the navy to order. Whenever an officer fails 
to win the affections of those who are under his command, he 
may be assured that the fault is chiefly in himself.^ 

While Sir Horatio was in the Theseus he was employed in 
the command of the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz. 
During this service the most perilous action occurred in which 
he was ever engaged. Making a night attack upon the Spanish 
gunboats, his barge was attacked by an armed launch, under 
their commander, Don Miguel Tregoyen, carrying twenty-six 
men. Nelson had with him only his ten bargemen, Captain 
Freemantle, and his coxswain, John Sykes, an old and faithful 
follower, who twice saved the life of his admiral by parrying 
the blows aimed at him, and at last actually interposed his own 
head to receive the blow of a Spanish sabre, which he could 
not by any other means avert ; thus dearly was Nelson beloved. 
This was a desperate service — hand to hand with swords; and 

1 Her Captain's. — According to the Nelson Dispatches the text should 
read " the Captain^'' the name of Nelson's former ship. 

2 A thorough sailor himself, nursed in the lap of hardship, Nelson knew 
how to adapt his behavior to the men he commanded, and never did an 
officer possess their affections to a higher degree. To this love and vene- 
ration he was not only indebted for his early successes, but even for his life, 
as there was scarcely one of his crew who would not have sacrificed him- 
self to save his commander. A striking instance of how much he was 
adored by his men occurred during the battle of Trafalgar. A seaman of 
the Victory was under the hands of the surgeon, suffering the amputation of 
an arm. " Well," said he, " this, by some, would be considered a mis- 
fortune, but I shall be proud of it, as I shall resemble the more our brave 
admiral." Before the operation was finished, tidings were brought below 
that Nelson was shot ; the man, who had never shrunk from the pain he 
had endured, started from his seat, and exclaimed : " Good God ! I would 

* rather the shot had taken off my head and spared his life." 



8o southey's life of nelson. 

Nelson always considered that his personal courage was more 
conspicuous on this occasion than on any other during his 
whole life. Notwithstanding the great disproportion of num- 
bers, eighteen of the enemy were killed, all the rest wounded, 
and their launch taken. Nelson would have asked for a lieu- 
tenancy for Sykes if he had served long enough : his manner 
and conduct, he observed, were so entirely above his situation 
that Nature certainly intended him for a gentleman ; but though 
he recovered from the dangerous wound which he received in 
this act of heroic attachment, he did not live to profit by the 
gratitude and friendship of his commander. 

Twelve days after this rencontre, Nelson sailed at the head of 
an expedition against Teneriffe. A report had prevailed a few 
months before that the viceroy of Mexico, with the treasure- 
ships, had put into that island. This had led Nelson to medi- 
tate the plan of an attack upon it, which he communicated to 
Earl St. Vincent. 

The plan was, that the boats should land in the night, 
between the fort on the N.E. side of Santa Cruz Bay and the 
town, make themselves masters of that fort, and then send a 
summons to the governor. By midnight the three frigates, 
having the force on board which was intended for this debarka- 
tion, approached within three miles of the place ; but owing to 
a strong gale of wind in the offing, and a strong current against 
them^ inshore, they were not able to get within a mile of the 
landing-place before daybreak, and then they were seen and 
their intention discovered. Trowbridge and Bowen, with Cap- 
tain Oldfield of the marines, went, upon this, to consult with 
the admiral what was to be done ; and it was resolved that 
they should attempt to get possession of the heights above the 
fort. The frigates accordingly landed their men, and Nelson 
stood in with the line-of-battle ships, meaning to batter the 
fort for the purpose of distracting the attention of the garrison. 
A calm and contrary current hindered him from getting within 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 8 1 

a league of the shore, and the heights were by this time so 
secured, and manned with such a force, as to be judged impracti- 
cable. Thus foiled in his plans by circumstances of wind and 
tide, he still considered it a point of honor that some attempt 
should be made. This was on the 2 2d of July; he reembarked 
his men that night, got the ships on the 24th to anchor about 
two miles north of the town, and made show as if he intended 
to attack the heights. 

At eleven o'clock, the boats, containing between 600 and 700 
men, with 180 on board the Fox cutter, and from 70 to 80 in a 
boat which had been taken the day before, proceeded in six 
divisions towards the town, conducted by all the captains of the 
squadron, except Freemantle and Bowen, who attended with 
Nelson to regulate and lead the way to the attack. They 
were to land on a mole, and thence hasten as fast as possible 
into the great square ; then form and proceed as should be 
found expedient. They were not discovered until about half- 
past one o'clock, when, being within half-gunshot of the landing- 
place. Nelson directed the boats to cast off from each other, 
give a huzza, and push for the shore. But the Spaniards were 
excellently well prepared ; the alarm-bells answered the huzza, 
and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon, with musketry 
from one end of the town to the other, opened upon the invad- 
ers. Nothing, however, could check the intrepidity with which 
they advanced. The night was exceedingly dark ; most of the 
boats missed the mole, and went on shore through a raging 
surf, which stove all to the left of it. The Admiral, Free7nantle, 
Thompson, Bowen, and four or five other boats, found the mole ; 
they stormed it instantly, and carried it, though it was defended, 
as they imagined, by four or five hundred men. Its guns, 
which were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked ; but such a 
heavy fire of musketry and grape was kept up from the citadel 
and the houses at the head of the mole, that the assailants could 
not advance, and nearly all of them were killed or wounded. 



82 southey's life of nelson. 

In the act of stepping out of the boat Nelson received a shot 
through the right elbow, and fell ; but as he fell he caught the 
sword which he had just drawn, in his left hand, determined 
never to part with it while he lived, for it had belonged to his 
uncle, Captain Suckling, and he valued it like a relic. Nisbet, 
who was close to him, placed him at the bottom of the boat, 
and laid his hat over the shattered arm, lest the sight of the 
blood, which gushed out in great abundance, should increase 
his faintness. He then examined the wound, and taking some 
silk handkerchiefs from his neck, bound them tightly above 
the lacerated vessels. Had it not been for this presence of 
mind in his son-in-law,^ Nelson must have perished. One of 
his bargemen, by name Lovel, tore his shirt into shreds, and 
made a sling with them for the broken lim^b. They then 
collected five other seamen, by whose assistance they succeeded 
at length in getting the boat afloat, for it had grounded with 
the falling tide. Nisbet took one of the oars, and ordered the 
steersman to go close under the guns of the battery, that they 
might be safe from its tremendous fire. Hearing his voice. 
Nelson roused himself, and desired to be lifted up in the boat 
that he might look about him. Nisbet raised him up, but 
nothing could be seen except the firing of the guns on shore, 
and what could be discerned by their flashes upon the stormy 
sea. In a few minutes a general shriek was heard from the 
crew of the Fox, which had received a shot under water, and 
went down. Ninety-seven men were lost in her ; eighty-three 
were saved, many by Nelson himself, whose exertions on this 
occasion greatly increased the pain and danger of his wound. 
The first ship which the boat could reach happened to be the 
Seahorse, but nothing could induce him to go on board, though 
he was assured that if they attempted to row to another ship it 
might be at the risk of his life. " I had rather suffer death," 

^ Son-in-law. — Nelson had no son-in-law. Reference is made to Nisbet, 
his step-son. 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 83 

he replied, " than alarm Mrs. Freemantle by letting her see me 
in this state, when I can give her no tidings whatever of her 
husband." They pushed on for the Theseus. When they 
came alongside he peremptorily refused all assistance in getting 
on board, so impatient was he that the boat should return, in 
hopes that it might save a few more from the Fox. He desired 
to have only a single rope thrown over the side, which he 
twisted round his left hand, saying, " Let me alone ; I have 
yet my legs left and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste 
and get his instruments. I know I must lose my right arm ; 
so the sooner it is off the better." ^ The spirit which he dis- 
played in jumping up the ship's side astonished everybody. 

Freemantle had been severely wounded in the right arm soon 
after the admiral. He was fortunate enough to find a boat at 
the beach, and got instantly to his ship. Thompson was 
wounded ; Bowen killed, to the great regret of Nelson ; as was 
also one of his own officers, Lieutenant Weatherhead, who had 
followed him from the Agamejnfion, and whom he greatly and 
deservedly esteemed. Trowbridge, meantime, fortunately for 
his party, missed the mole in the darkness, but pushed on 
shore under the batteries, close to the south end of the citadel. 
Captain Waller of the Emerald, and two or three other boats, 
landed at the same time. The surf was so high that many 
others put back. The boats were instantly filled with water 
and stove against the rocks, and most of the ammunition in the 
men's pouches was wetted. Having collected a few men, they 

1 During the Peace of Amiens, when Nelson was passing through Salis- 
bury, and received there with those acclamations which followed him every- 
where, he recognized amid the crowd a man who had assisted at the 
amputation, and attended him afterwards. He beckoned him up the stairs 
of the Council House, shook hands with him, and made him a present, in 
remembrance of his services at that time. The man took from his bosom 
a piece of lace which he had torn from the sleeve of the amputated limb, 
saying he had preserved and would preserve it to the last moment, in 
memory of his old commander. 



84 southey's life of nelson 

pushed on to the great square, hoping there to find the Admiral 
and the rest of the force. The ladders were all lost, so that 
they could make no immediate attempt on the citadel ; but 
they sent a sergeant with two of the townspeople to summon it. 
This messeAger never returned, and Trowbridge, having waited 
about an hour in painful expectation of his friends, marched to 
join Captains Hood and Miller, who had effected their landing 
to the southwest. They then endeavored to procure some 
intelligence of the admiral and the rest of the officers, but 
without success. 

By daybreak they had gathered together about eighty marines, 
eighty pikemen, and one hundred and eighty small-arm seamen 
— all the survivors of those who had made good their landing. 
They obtained some ammunition from the prisoners whom they 
had taken, and marched on to try what could be done at the 
citadel without ladders. They found all the streets commanded 
by field-pieces, and several thousand Spaniards, with about a 
hundred French, under arms, approaching by every avenue. 
Finding himself without provisions, the powder wet, and no 
possibility of obtaining either stores or reinforcements from the 
ships, the boats being lost, Trowbridge, with great presence of 
mind, sent Captain Samuel Hood with a flag of truce to the 
governor to say he was prepared to burn the town, and would 
instantly set fire to it, if the Spaniards approached one inch 
nearer. This, however, if he were compelled to do it, he should 
do with regret, for he had no wish to injure the inhabitants, 
and he was ready to treat upon these terms : that the British 
troops should reembark with all their arms of every kind, and 
take their own boats, if they were saved, or be provided with 
such others as might be wanting; they on their part engaging 
that the squadron should not molest the town nor any of the 
Canary Islands ; all prisoners on both sides to be given up. 

When these terms were proposed, the governor made answer 
that the English ought to surrender as prisoners of war ; but 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. 85 

Captain Hood replied he was instructed to say that if the 
terms were not accepted in five minutes, Captain Trowbridge 
would set the town on fire and attack the Spaniards at the point 
of the bayonet. Satisfied with his success, which was indeed 
sufficiently complete, and respecting, like a brave and honorable 
man, the gallantry of his enemy, the Spaniard acceded to the 
proposal. " And here," says Nelson in his journal, " it is right 
we should notice the noble and generous conduct of Don Juan 
Antonio Gutierrez, the Spanish governor. The moment the 
terms were agreed to he directed our wounded men to be 
received into the hospitals, and all our people to be supplied 
with the best provisions that could be procured, and made it 
known that the ships were at liberty to send on shore and 
purchase whatever refreshments they were in want of during 
the time they might be off the island." A youth, by name 
Don Bernardo Collagon, stript himself of his shirt to make 
bandages for one of those Englishmen against whom, not an 
hour before, he had been engaged in battle. Nelson wrote to 
thank the governor for the humanity which he had displayed. 
Presents were interchanged between them. Sir Horatio offered 
to take charge of his dispatches for the Spanish government, 
and thus actually became the first messenger to Spain of his 
own defeat. 

The total loss of the English in killed, wounded, and drowned 
amounted to 250. Nelson made no mention of his own wound 
in his official dispatches, but in a private letter to Lord St. Vin- 
cent — the first which he wrote with his left hand — he shows 
himself to have been deeply affected by the failure of this 
enterprise. " I am become," he said, " a burden to my friends 
and useless to my country ; but by my last letter you will 
perceive my anxiety for the promotion of my son-in-law, 
Josiah Nisbet. When I leave your command I become dead 
to the world ; ' I go hence and am no more seen.' If from 
poor Bo wen's loss you think it proper to oblige me, I rest con- 



86 southey's life of nelson. 

fident you will do it. The boy is under obligations to me, but 
he repaid me by bringing me from the mole of Santa Cruz. I 
hope you will be able to give me a frigate to convey the remains 
of my carcass to England." — "A left-handed admiral," he 
said in a subsequent letter, '' will never again be considered as 
useful ; therefore the sooner I get to a very humble cottage the 
better, and make room for a sounder man to serve the State." 
His first letter to Lady Nelson was written under the same 
opinion, but in a more cheerful strain. " It was the chance of 
war," said he, " and I have great reason to be thankful ; and 
I know it will add much .to your pleasure to find that Josiah, 
under God's providence, was principally instrumental in saving 
my life. I shall not be surprised if I am neglected and 
forgotten ; probably I shall no longer be considered as useful. 
However, I shall feel rich if I continue to enjoy your affection. 
I beg neither you nor my father will think much of this mishap ; 
my mind has long been made up to such an event." 

His son-in-law, according to his wish, was immediately pro- 
moted, and honors enough to heal his wounded spirit awaited 
him in England. Letters were addressed to him by the First 
Lord of the Admiralty, and by his steady friend the Duke of 
Clarence, to congratulate him on his return, covered as he was 
with glory. He assured the duke in his reply that not a scrap 
of that ardor with which he had hitherto served his King had 
been shot away. The freedom of the cities of Bristol and 
London was transmitted to him, he was invested with the 
Order of the Bath, and received a pension of ;^iooo a year. 
The memorial which, as a matter of form, he was called upon 
to present on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary cata- 
logue of services performed during the war. It stated that he 
had been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy, and in 
three actions with boats employed in cutting out of harbor, in 
destroying vessels, and in taking three towns ; he had served 
on shore with the army four months, and commanded the 



BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT. SjT 

batteries at the sieges of Bastia and Calvi ; he had assisted at 
the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, 
and eleven privateers ; taken and destroyed nearly fifty sail of 
merchant vessels ; and actually been engaged against the 
enemy upwards of one hundred and twenty times, in which 
service he had lost his right eye and right arm, and been 
severely wounded and bruised in his body. 

His sujEferings from the lost limb were long and painful. A 
nerve had been taken up in one of the ligatures at the time of 
the operation, and the ligature, according to the practice of the 
French surgeons, was of silk, instead of waxed thread. This 
produced a constant irritation and discharge, and the ends of 
the ligature being pulled every day, in hopes of bringing it 
away, occasioned great agony. He had scarcely any inter- 
mission of pain day or night for three months after his return 
to England. Lady Nelson, at his earnest request, attended 
the dressing of his arm till she had acquired sufficient resolu- 
tion and skill to dress it herself. One night during this state 
of suffering, after a day of constant pain, Nelson retired early 
to bed in hope of enjoying some respite by means of laudanum. 
He was at that time lodging in Bond Street, and the family 
were soon disturbed by a mob knocking loudly and violently 
at the door. The news of Duncan's victory ^ had been made 
public, and the house was not illuminated. But when the 
mob were told that Admiral Nelson lay there in bed, badly 
wounded, the foremost of them made answer, " You shall hear 
no more from us to-night ; " and in fact the feeling of respect 
and sympathy was communicated from one to another with 
such effect that under the confusion of such a night the house 
was not molested again. 

About the end of November, after a night of sound sleep, 
he found the arm nearly free from pain ; the surgeon was 

^ Duncan's Victory. — The reference is to Admiral Duncan's victory 
over the Dutch at Camperdoun, Oct. ii, 1797. 



88 southey's life of nelson. 

immediately sent for to examine it, and the ligature came 
away with the slightest touch. From that time it began to 
heal. As soon as he thought his health established, he sent 
the following form of thanksgiving to the minister of St. 
George's, Hanover Square : " An officer desires to return 
thanks to Almighty God for his perfect recovery from a 
severe wound, and also for the many mercies bestowed on 
him." 

Not having been in England till now since he lost his eye, 
he went to receive a year's pay as smart-money, but could not 
obtain payment because he had neglected to bring a certificate 
from a surgeon that the sight was actually destroyed. A little 
irritated that this form should be insisted upon, because, 
though the fact was not apparent, he thought it was suffi- 
ciently notorious, he procured a certificate at the same time 
for the loss of his arm, saying they might just as well doubt 
one as the other. This put him in good humor with himself 
and with the clerk who had offended him. On his return to 
the office, the clerk, finding it was only the annual pay of 
a captain, observed he thought it had been more. " Oh ! " 
replied Nelson, " this is only for an eye. In a few days I 
shall come for an arm, and in a little time longer, God knows, 
most probably for a leg." Accordingly, he soon afterwards 
went, and with perfect good humor exhibited the certificate of 
the loss of his arm. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 



EARLY in the year 1798 Sir Horatio Nelson hoisted his 
flag in the Vajiguard, and was ordered to rejoin Earl 
St. Vincent. Upon his departure his father addressed him 
with that affectionate solemnity by which all his letters were 
distinguished. " I trust in the Lord," said he, " that He will 
prosper your going out and your coming in. I earnestly de- 
sired once more to see you, and that wish has been heard. If 
I should presume to say, I hope to see you again, the question 
would be readily asked. How old art thou ? Vale I vale ! 
Do??iine, valeP'' 

Immediately on his rejoining the fleet he was dispatched to 
the Mediterranean with a small squadron, in order to ascertain, , 
if possible, the object of the great expedition which at that 
time was fitting out under Bonaparte at Toulon, The defeat 
of this armament, whatever might be its destination, was 
deemed by the British government an object paramount to 
every other ; and Earl St. Vincent was directed, if he thought 
it necessary, to take his whole force into the Mediterranean, 
to relinquish for that purpose the blockade of the Spanish 
fleet as a thing of inferior moment ; but if he should deem a 
detachment suflicient, " I think it almost unnecessary," said 
the First Lord of the Admiralty in his secret instructions, " to 
suggest to you the propriety of putting it under Sir Horatio 
Nelson." It is to the honor of Earl St. Vincent that he had 
already made the same choice. 

The armament at Toulon consisted of thirteen ships of the 
line, seven forty-gun frigates, with twenty-four smaller vessels 
of war and nearly 200 transports. Mr. Udney, our consul at 



go SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Leghorn, was the first person who procured certain intelHgence 
of the enemy's design against Malta, and from his own sagacity 
foresaw that Egypt must be their after-object. Nelson sailed 
from Gibraltar on the 9th of May, with the Vatigiiard, Orion, 
and Alexander, seventy-fours ; the Caroline, Flora, Emerald, 
and Terpischore, frigates ; and the Bon?ie Citoyenne, sloop of war, 
to watch this formidable armament. On the 19th, when they 
were in the Gulf of Lyons, a gale came on from the N.W. It 
moderated so much on the 20th as to enable them to get their 
topgallant masts and yards aloft. After dark it again began to 
blow strong ; but the ships had been prepared for a gale, and 
therefore Nelson's mind was easy. Shortly after midnight, 
however, his main-topmast went over the side, and the mizzen- 
topmast soon afterward. The night was so tempestuous that 
it was impossible for any signal either to be seen or heard, and 
Nelson determined, as soon as it should be daybreak, to wear, 
and scud before the gale ; but at half-past three the foremast 
went in three pieces, and the bowsprit was found to be sprung 
in three places. 

When day broke they succeeded in wearing the ship with 
a remnant of the spritsail. This was hardly to have been ex- 
pected. The Va?tguard was at that time twenty-five leagues 
south of the island of Hieres, with her head lying to the N.E., 
and if she had not wore the ship must have drifted to Corsica. 
Captain Ball, in the Alexander, took her in tow, to carry her 
into the Sardinian harbor of St. Pietro. Nelson, apprehensive 
that this attempt might endanger both vessels, ordered him to 
cast off ; but that excellent officer, with a spirit like his com- 
mander's, replied he was confident he could save the Vanguard, 
and by God's help he would do it. There had been a previous 
coolness between these great men, but by this time Nelson be- 
came fully sensible of the extraordinary talents of Captain Ball, 
and a sincere friendship subsisted between them during the 
remainder of their lives. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 9 1 

" I ought not," said the admiral, writing to his wife, " I 
ought not to call what has happened to the Vanguard by the 
cold name of accident ; I believe firmly it was the Almighty's 
goodness to check my consummate vanity. I hope it has made 
me a better officer, as I feel confident it has made me a better 
man. Figure to yourself, on Sunday evening at sunset, a vain 
man walking in his cabin, with a squadron around him, who 
looked up to their chief to lead them to glory, and in whom 
their chief placed the firmest reliance that the proudest ships 
of equal numbers belonging to France would have lowered 
their flags; figure to yourself, on Monday morning when the 
sun rose, this proud man, his ship dismasted, his fleet dispersed, 
and himself in such distress that the meanest frigate out of 
France would have been an unwelcome guest." 

Nelson had indeed more reason to refuse the cold name of 
accident to this tempest than he was then aware of, for on that 
very day the French fleet sailed from Toulon, and must have 
passed within a few leagues of his little squadron, which was 
thus preserved by the thick weather that came on. 

The British government at this time, with a becoming spirit, 
gave orders that any port in the Mediterranean should be con- 
sidered as hostile where the governor or chief magistrate should 
refuse to let our ships of war procure supplies of provisions or 
of any article which they might require. 

In the orders of the British government to consider all ports 
as hostile where the British ships should be refused supplies 
the ports of Sardinia were excepted. The continental posses- 
sions of the King of Sardinia were at this time completely at 
the mercy of the French, and that prince was now discover- 
ing, when too late, that the terms to which he had consented, 
for the purpose of escaping immediate danger, necessarily in- 
volved the loss of the dominions which they were intended to 
preserve. The citadel of Turin was now occupied by French 
troops, and his wretched court feared to afford the common 



92 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

rights of humanity to British ships, lest it should give the 
French occasion to seize on the remainder of his dominions — 
a measure for which it was certain they would soon make a 
pretext if they did not find one. Nelson was informed that he 
could not be permitted to enter the port of St. Pietro. Regard- 
less of this interdict, which under his circumstances it would 
have been, an act of suicidal foUy to have regarded, he anchored 
in the harbor ; and by the exertions of Sir James Saumarez, 
Captain Ball, and Captain Berry, the Vanguard was refitted in 
four days : months would have been employed in refitting her 
in England. 

The delay which was thus occasioned was useful to him in 
many respects. It enabled him to complete his supply of 
water, and to receive a reinforcement which Earl St. Vincent, 
being himself reinforced from England, was enabled to send 
him. It consisted of the best ships of his fleet : the Culloden, 
seventy-four. Captain T. Trowbridge ; Goliath, seventy-four, 
Captain T. Foley; Minotaur, seventy-four. Captain T. Louis; 
Defe?ice, seventy-four. Captain John Peyton ; Bellerophofi, 
seventy-four. Captain H. D. E. Darby ; Majestic, seventy-four, 
Captain G. B. Westcott ; Zealous, seventy-four, Captain S. 
Hood; Swiftsure, seventy-four, Captain B. Hallowell; Theseus, 
seventy-four, Captain R. W. Miller ; Audacious, seventy-four, 
Captain Davidge Gould. The Leander, fifty, Captain T. B. 
Thompson, was afterwards added. 

These ships were made ready for the service as soon as Earl 
St. Vincent received advice from England that he was to be 
reinforced. As soon as the reinforcement was seen from the 
masthead of the admiral's ship off Cadiz Bay, signal was im- 
mediately made to Captain Trowbridge to put to sea, and he 
was out of sight before the ships from home cast anchor in the 
British station. Trowbridge took with him no instructions to 
Nelson as to the course he was to steer, nor any certain 
account of the enemy's destination ; everything was left to his 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 93 

own judgment. Unfortunately, the frigates had been sepa- 
rated from him in the tempest, and had not been able to 
rejoin ; they sought him unsuccessfully in the Bay of Naples, 
where they obtained no tidings of his course, and he sailed 
without them. 

The first news of the enemy's armament was that it had 
surprised Malta. Nelson formed a plan for attacking it while 
at anchor at Gozo,^but on the 2 2d of June intelligence reached 
him that the French had left that island on the i6th, the day 
after their arrival. It was clear that their destination was 
eastward, — he thought for Egypt, and for Egypt, therefore, he 
made all sail. Had the frigates been with him he could 
scarcely have failed to gain information of the enemy ; for 
want of them, he only spoke three vessels on the way : two 
came from Alexandria, one from the Archipelago,^ and neither 
of them had seen anything of the French. He arrived off 
Alexandria on the 28th, and the enemy were not there, neither 
was there any account of them ; but the governor was endeav- 
oring to put the city in a state of defense, having received 
advice from Leghorn that the French expedition was intended 
against Egypt, after it had taken Malta. Nelson then shaped 
his course to the northward, for Caramania, and steered from 
thence along the southern side of Candia, carrying a. press of 
sail both night and day, with a contrary wind. 

It would have been his delight, he said, to have tried Bona- 
parte on a wind. It would have been the delight of Europe, 
too, and the blessing of the world, if that fleet had been over- 
taken with its general on board. But of the myriads and 
millions of human beings who would have been preserved by 
that day's victory there is not one to whom such essential 
benefit would have resulted as to Bonaparte himself. It would 

1 Gozo. — A little island to the northwest of Malta. 

2 Archipelago. — The Aegean Sea is meant, between Asia Minor and 
Greece. 



94 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

have spared him his defeat at Acre,^ — his only disgrace, for 
to have been defeated by Nelson upon the seas would not 
have been disgraceful ; and it would have spared him all his 
after enormities. Hitherto his career had been glorious ; the 
baneful principles of his heart had never yet passed his lips ; 
history would have represented him as a soldier of fortune, 
who had faithfully served the cause in which he engaged, and 
whose career had been distinguished by a series of successes 
unexampled in modern times. A romantic obscurity would 
have hung over the expedition to Egypt, and he would have 
escaped the perpetration of those crimes which have incarna- 
dined his soul with a deeper dye than that of the purple 
for which he committed them, — those acts of perfidy, mid- 
night murder, usurpation, and remorseless tyranny, which 
have consigned his name to universal execration, now and 
forever. 

Conceiving that when an officer is not successful in his plans 
it is absolutely necessary that he should explain the motives 
upon which they were founded, Nelson wrote at this time an 
account and vindication of his conduct for having carried the 
fleet to Egypt. The objection which he anticipated was, that 
he ought not to have made so long a voyage without more 
certain information. '' My answer," said he, " is ready : Who 
was I to get it from ? The governments of Naples and Sicily 
either knew not, or chose to keep me in ignorance. Was I to 
wait patiently until I heard certain accounts ? If Egypt were 
their object, before I could hear of them they would have been 
in India. To do nothing was disgraceful, therefore I made 
use of my understanding. I am before your lordships' judg- 
ment, and if, under all circumstances, it is decided that I am 

^ Defeat at Acre. — This was the famous siege which Napoleon referred 
to when he said that Sir Philip Sidney " had made him miss his destiny." 
After a siege of 6i days and a loss of 3000 men Napoleon was baffled by 
the desperate resistance of the Turkish garrison assisted by Sidney. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 95 

wrong, I ought for the sake of our country to be superseded, 
for at this moment, when I know the French are not in Alex- 
andria, I hold the same opinion as off Cape Passaro, — that, 
under all circumstances, I was right in steering for Alexandria ; 
and by that opinion I must stand or fall." 

Captain Ball, to whom he showed this paper, told him he 
should recommend a friend never to begin a defense of his 
conduct before he was accused of error ; he might give the 
fullest reasons for what he had done, expressed in such terms 
as would evince that he had acted from the strongest convic- 
tion of being right, and of course he must expect that the 
public would view it in the same light. Captain Ball judged 
rightly of the public, whose first impulses, though from want 
of sufficient information they must frequently be erroneous, are 
generally founded upon just feelings. But the public are easily 
misled, and there are always persons ready to mislead them. 
Nelson had not yet attained that fame which compels envy to 
be silent, and when it was known in England that he had 
returned after an unsuccessful pursuit it was said that he 
deserved impeachment ; and Earl St. Vincent was severely 
censured for having sent so young an officer upon so important 
a service. 

Baffled in his pursuit, he returned to Sicily. The Neapolitan 
ministry had determined to give his squadron no assistance, 
being resolved to do nothing which could possibly endanger 
their peace with the French Directory ; by means, however, of 
Lady Hamilton's influence at court he procured secret orders 
to the Sicilian governors, and under those orders obtained 
everything which he wanted at Syracuse, — a timely supply, 
without which, he always said, he could not have recom- 
menced his pursuit with any hope of success. " I cannot 
to this moment learn," said he in his letter, " beyond vague 
conjecture, where the French fleet are gone to, and having 
gone a round of six hundred leagues at this season of the 



g6 southey's life of nelson. 

year with an expedition incredible, here I am, as ignorant of 
the situation of the enemy as I was twenty-seven days ago. 
Every moment I have to regret the frigates having left me ; 
had one-half of them been with me I could not have wanted 
information. Should the French be so strongly secured in 
port that I cannot get at them, I shall immediately shift 
my flag into some other ship, and send the Vanguard to 
Naples to be refitted, for hardly any person but myself 
would have continued on service so long in such a wretched 
state." 

Vexed, however, and disappointed as he was. Nelson, with 
the true heart of a hero, was still full of hope. " Thanks to 
your exertions," said he, writing to Sir William and Lady 
Hamilton, " we have victualed and watered ; and surely, 
watering at the fountain of Arethusa, we must have victory. 
We shall sail with the first breeze ; and be assured I will 
return either crowned with laurel or covered with cypress." 
Earl St. Vincent he assured that if the French were above 
water he would find them out : he still held his opinion that 
they were bound for Egypt ; "but," said he to the First Lord 
of the Admiralty, "be they bound to the Antipodes, your 
lordship may rely that I will not lose a moment in bringing 
them to action." 

On the 25th of July he sailed from Syracuse for the Morea. 
Anxious beyond measure, and irritated that the enemy should 
so long have eluded him, the tediousness of the nights made 
him impatient, and the officer of the watch was repeatedly 
called on to let him know the hour, and convince him, who 
measured time by his own eagerness, that it was not yet 
daybreak. The squadron made the Gulf of Coron on the 
28th. Trowbridge entered the port, and returned with the 
intelligence that -the French had been seen about four weeks 
before steering to the S.E. from Candia. Nelson then deter- 
mined immediately to return to Alexandria, and the British 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 9/ 

fleet accordingly, with every sail set, stood once more for the 
coast of Egypt. On the ist of August, about ten in the 
morning, they came in sight of Alexandria. The port had 
been vacant and solitary when they saw it last ; it was now 
crowded with ships, and they perceived with exultation that 
the tri-color flag was flying upon the walls. At four in the 
afternoon, Captain Hood, in the Zealous^ made the signal for 
the enemy's fleet. For many preceding days Nelson had 
hardly taken either sleep or food : he now ordered his dinner 
to be served while preparations were making for battle ; and 
when his officers rose from the table and went to their separate 
stations he said to them, " Before this time to-morrow, I shall 
have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey." 

The French, steering direct for Candia, had made an angular 
passage for Alexandria ; whereas Nelson, in pursuit of them, 
made straight for that place, and thus materially shortened the 
distance. The comparative smallness of his force made it 
necessary to sail in close order, and it covered a less space 
than it would have done if the frigates had been with him ; 
the weather also was constantly hazy. These circumstances 
prevented the English from discovering the enemy on the way 
to Egypt, though it appeared, upon examining the journals of 
the French officers taken in the action, that the two fleets 
must actually have crossed on the night of the 2 2d of June. 
During the return to Syracuse the chances of falling in with 
them were fewer. 

Why Bonaparte, having effected his landing, should not have 
suffered the fleet to return, has never yet been explained. 
Thus much is certain, that it was detained by his command ; 
though, with his accustomed falsehood, he accused Admiral 
Brueys, after that officer's death, of having lingered on the 
coast contrary to orders. The French fleet arrived at Alexan- 
dria on the I St of July, and Brueys, not being able to enter 
the port, which time and neglect had ruined, moored his ships 



98 southey's life of nelson. 

in Aboukir Bay,-^ in a strong and compact line of battle ; the 
headmost vessel, according to his own account, being as close 
as possible to a shoal on the N.W., and the rest of the fleet 
forming a kind of curve along the line of deep water, so as not 
to be turned by any means in the S.W. By Bonaparte's desire 
he had offered a reward of 10,000 livres to any pilot of the 
country who would carry the squadron in ; but none could be 
found who would venture to take charge of a single vessel 
drawing more than twenty feet. He had therefore made the 
best of his situation, and chosen the strongest position which 
he could possibly take in an open road. The commissary of 
the fleet said they were moored in such a manner as to bid 
defiance to a force more than double their own. This pre- 
sumption could not then be thought unreasonable. Admiral 
Barrington, when moored in a similar manner off St. Lucia, in 
the year 1778, beat off the Comte d'Estaign in three several 
attacks, though his force was inferior by almost one-third to 
that which assailed it. Here the advantage of numbers, both 
in ships, guns, and men, was in favor of the French. They 
had thirteen ships of the line and four frigates, carrying 1196 
guns and 11,230 men. The English had the same number of 
ships of the line, and one fifty-gun ship, carrying 1012 guns 
and 8068 men. The English ships were all seventy-fours ; the 
French had three eighty-gun ships, and one three-decker of 
one' hundred and twenty. 

During the whole pursuit it had been Nelson's practice, 
whenever circumstances would permit, to have his captains on 
board the Vanguard, and explain to them his own ideas of the 
different and best modes of attack, and such plans as he pro- 
posed to execute on falling in with the enemy, whatever their 
situation might be. There is no possible position, it is said, 

^ Aboukir Bay. — The battle of the Nile was not fought in the river, 
but at some distance from it. Aboukir Bay is between Alexandria and a 
branch of the Nile. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 99 

which he did not take into calculation. His officers were thus 
fully acquainted with his principles of tactics : and such was 
his confidence in their abilities that the only thing determined 
upon, in case they should find the French at anchor, was for 
the ships to form as most convenient for their mutual support, 
and to anchor by the stern. " First gain the victory," he said, 
" and then make the best use of it you can." 

The moment he perceived the position of the French, that 
intuitive genius with which Nelson was endowed displayed 
itself, and it instantly struck him that where there was room 
for an enemy's ship to swing there was room for one of ours 
to anchor. The plan which he intended to pursue, therefore, 
was to keep entirely on the outer side of the French line, and 
station his ships, as far as he was able, one on the outer bow, 
and another on the outer quarter, of each of the enemy's. 
This plan of doubling on the enemy's ships was projected by 
Lord Hood when he designed to attack the French fleet at 
their anchorage in Gourjean Road. Lord Hood found it 
impossible to make the attempt ; but the thought was not lost 
upon Nelson, who acknowledged himself on this occasion 
indebted for it to his old and excellent commander. Captain 
Berry, when he comprehended the scope of the design, exclaimed 
with transport : " If we succeed,^ what will the world say ? " 
— "There is no z/" in the case," replied the admiral. ''That 
we shall succeed is certain ; who may live to tell the story, is a 
very different question." 

As the squadron advanced they were assailed by a shower 
of shot and shells from the batteries on the island, and the 
enemy opened a steady fire from the starboard side of their 
whole line, within half-gunshot distance, full into the bows of 
our van ships. It was received in silence ; the men on board 
every ship were employed aloft in furling sails, and below in 
tending the braces and making ready for anchorage. 

^ If we succeed, etc. — It is claimed on good authority that there is no 
foundation of truth in this incident as here given by Southey, 



lOO SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

A French brig was instructed to decoy the English by 
manceuvring so as to tempt them towards a shoal lying off the 
island of Bekier ; but Nelson either knew the danger or sus- ^ 
pected some deceit, and the lure was unsuccessful. Captain 
Foley led the way in the Goliath^ outsailing the Zealous^ which 
for some minutes disputed this post of honor with him. He 
had long conceived that if the enemy were moored in line-of- 
battle in with the land, the best plan of attack would be to 
lead between them and the shore, because the French guns on 
that side were not likely to be manned nor even ready for 
action. Intending, therefore, to fix himself on the inner bow 
of the Guerrier, he kept as near the edge of the bank as the 
depth of water would admit, but his anchor hung, and having 
opened his fire, he drifted to the second ship, the Conquerant, 
before it was clear, then anchored by the stern, inside of her, 
and in ten minutes shot away her mast. Hood, in the Zealous, 
perceiving this, took the station which the Goliath intended to 
have occupied, and totally disabled the Guerrier in twelve 
minutes. The third ship which doubled the enemy's van was 
the Orion, Sir J. Saumarez ; she passed to windward of the 
Zealous, and opened her larboard guns as long as they bore on 
the Guerrier, then passing inside the Goliath, sunk a frigate 
which annoyed her, hauled round toward the French line, and 
anchoring inside, between the fifth and sixth ships from the 
Guerrier, took her station on the larboard bow of the Franklift 
and the quarter of the Peuple Souverain, receiving and return- 
ing the fire of both. The sun was now nearly down. The 
Audacious, Captain Gould, pouring a heavy fire into the 
Guerrier and the Cofiquerant, fixed herself on the larboard 
bow of the latter, and when that ship struck, passed on to 
the Peuple Souverain. The Theseus, Captain Miller, followed, 
brought down the Guerrier' s remaining main and mizzen masts, 
then anchored inside of the Spartiate, the third in the French 
line. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. lOI 

While these advanced ships doubled the French line the 
Vanguard was the first that anchored on the outer side of the 
enemy, within half pistol-shot of their third ship, the Spartiate. 
Nelson had six colors flying in different parts of his rigging, 
lest they should be shot away — that they should be struck no 
British admiral considers as a possibility. He veered half 
a cable, and instantly opened a tremendous fire, under cover of 
which the other four ships of his division, the Minotaur, Bellero- 
pkon, Defence, and Majestic, sailed on ahead of the admiral. In 
a few minutes every man stationed at the first six guns in the 
fore part of the Vanguard^ s deck was killed or wounded — these 
guns were three times cleared. Captain Louis, in the Minotaur, 
anchored next ahead, and took off the fire of the Aqtiilon, the 
fourth in the enemy's line. The Bellerophon, Captain Darby, 
passed ahead, and dropped her stern anchor on the starboard 
bow of the Orient, seventh in the line, Brueys' own ship, of one 
hundred and twenty guns, whose difference of force was in pro- 
portion of more than seven to three, and whose weight of ball 
from the lower deck alone exceeded that from the whole broad- 
side of the Bellerophon. Captain Peyton, in the Defence, took 
his station ahead of the Minotaur and engaged the Franklin, 
the sixth in line, by which judicious movement the British line 
remained unbroken. The Majestic, Captain Westcott, got 
entangled with the main rigging of one of the French ships 
astern of the Oriefit, and suffered dreadfully from that three- 
decker's fire ; but she swung clear, and closely engaging the 
Heureux, the ninth ship on the starboard bow, received also 
the fire of the Tonnant, which was the eighth in the line. The 
other four ships of the British squadron, having been detached 
previous to the discovery of the French, were at a considerable 
distance when the action began. It commenced at half after 
six ; about seven night closed, and there was no other light 
than that from the fire of the contending fleets. 

Trowbridge, in the Culloden, then foremost of the remaining 



I02 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

ships, was two leagues astern. He came on, sounding, as the 
others had done ; as he advanced the increasing darkness 
increased the difficulty of the navigation ; and suddenly, after 
having found eleven fathoms water, before the lead could be 
hove again he was fast aground, nor could all his own exertions, 
joined to those of the Leander and the Mutine brig, which came 
to his assistance, get him off in time to bear a part in the 
action. His ship, however, served as a beacon to the Alexander 
and Swiftsure^ which would else, from the course which they 
were holding, have gone considerably farther on the reef, and 
must inevitably have been lost. These ships entered the bay, 
and took their stations in the darkness in a manner long spoken 
of with admiration by all who remembered it. 

Captain Hallowell, in the Swiftsure, as he was bearing down, 
fell in with what seemed to be a strange sail : Nelson had 
directed his ships to hoist four lights horizontally at the mizzen 
peak as soon as it became dark, and this vessel had no such 
distinction. Hallowell, however, with great judgment, ordered 
his men not to fire : if she was an enemy, he said, she was in 
too disabled a state to escape, but from her sails being loose, 
and the way in which her head was, it was probable she might 
be an English ship. It was the Bellerophon, overpowered by 
the huge Orient ; her lights had gone overboard, nearly 200 
of her crew were killed or wounded, all her masts and cables 
had been shot away, and she was drifting out of the line towards 
the lee side of the bay. Her station at this important time 
was occupied by the Swiftsure, which opened a steady fire on 
the quarter of the Franklin and the bows of the French admiral. 
At the same instant. Captain Ball, with the Alexander, passed 
under his stern, and anchored within side on his larboard quar- 
ter, raking him and keeping up a severe fire of musketry upon 
his decks. 

The last ship which arrived to complete the destruction of 
the enemy was the Leander. Captain Thompson, finding that 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. IO3 

nothing could be done that night to get off the Cullodcn, 
advanced with the intention of anchoring athwart-hawse of the 
Orient. The Franklin was so near her head that there was 
not room for him to pass clear of the two ; he therefore took 
his station athwart-hawse of the latter in such a position as to 
rake both. 

The two first ships of the French line had been dismasted 
within a quarter of an hour after the commencement of the 
action, and the others had in that time suffered so severely 
that victory was already certain. The third, fourth, and fifth 
were taken possession of at half-past eight. 

Meantime, Nelson received a severe wound on the head from 
a piece of langridge shot. Captain Berry caught him in his 
arms as he was falling. The great effusion of blood occasioned 
an apprehension that the wound was mortal ; Nelson himself 
thought so. A large flap of the skin of the forehead, cut from 
the bone, had fallen over one eye ; and the other being blind, 
he was in total darkness. When he was carried down, the 
surgeon — in the midst of a scene scarcely to be conceived by 
those who have never seen a cock-pit^ in time of action, and 
the heroism which is displayed amid its horrors — with a natural 
and pardonable eagerness, quitted the poor fellow then under 
his hands that he might instantly attend the admiral. " No ! " 
said Nelson, '' I will take my turn with my brave fellows." 

Nor would he suffer his own wound to be examined till 
every man who had been previously wounded was properly 
attended to. Fully believing that the wound was mortal, and 
that he was about to die, as he had ever desired, in battle and 
in victory, he called the chaplain, and desired him to deliver 
what he supposed to be his dying remembrance to Lady Nelson. 
He then sent for Captain Louis on board from the Minotaur, 

^ Cock-pit. — A room under the lower deck of a man-of-war, where sur- 
geons attend the wounded. 



I04 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

that he might thank him personally for the great assistance 
which he had rendered to the Vanguard; and ever mindful of 
those who deserved to be his friends, appointed Captain Hardy 
from the brig to the command of his own ship, Captain Berry 
having to go home with the news of the victory. 

When the surgeon came in due time to examine his wound 
(for it was in vain to entreat him to let it be examined sooner) 
the most anxious silence prevailed, and the joy of the wounded 
men and of the whole crew, when they heard that the hurt 
was merely superficial, gave Nelson deeper pleasure than the 
unexpected assurance that his life was in no danger. The 
surgeon requested, and as far as he could, ordered him to 
remain quiet ; but Nelson could not rest. He called for his 
secretary, Mr. Campbell, to write the dispatches. Campbell 
had himself been wounded, and was so affected at the blind 
and suffering state of the admiral that he was unable to write. 
The chaplain was then sent for, but before he came. Nelson, 
with his characteristic eagerness, took the pen and contrived 
to trace a few words, marking his devout sense of the success 
which had already been obtained. He was now left alone, 
when suddenly a cry was heard on the deck that the Orient 
was on fire. In the confusion he found his way up, unassisted 
and unnoticed, and, to the astonishment of every one, appeared 
on the quarter-deck, where he immediately gave orders that 
boats' should be sent to the relief of the enemy. 

It was soon after nine that the fire on board the Orient broke 
out. Brueys was dead : he had received three wounds, yet he 
would not leave his post ; a fourth cut him almost in two. 
He desired not to be carried below, but to be left to die upon 
deck. The flames soon mastered his ship. Her sides had just 
been painted, and the oil-jars and paint-buckets were lying on 
the poop. By the prodigious light of this conflagration the 
situation of the two fleets could now be perceived, the colors 
of both being clearly distinguishable. About ten o'clock the 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. IO5 

ship blew up with a shock which was felt to the very bottom 
of every vessel. Many of her officers and men jumped over- 
board, some clinging to the spars and pieces of wreck with 
which the sea was strewn, others swimming to escape from 
the destruction which they momentarily dreaded. Some were 
picked up by our boats, and some, even in the heat and fury 
of the action, were dragged into the lower ports of the nearest 
British vessel by the British sailors. The greater part of her 
crew, however, stood the danger till the last, and continued to 
fire from the lower deck. This tremendous explosion was 
followed by a silence not less awful ; the firing immediately 
ceased on both sides, and the first sound which broke the 
silence was the dash of her shattered masts and yards falling 
into the water from the vast height to which they had been 
exploded. It is upon record that a battle between two armies 
was once broken off by an earthquake ; such an event would be 
felt like a miracle ; but no incident in war, produced by human 
means, has ever equaled the sublimity of this coinstantaneous 
pause and all its circumstances. 

About seventy of the Orie?it ^s crew were saved by the English 
boats. Among the many hundreds who perished were the 
commodore, Casa-Bianca, and his son, a brave boy,^ only ten 
years old. They were seen floating on a shattered mast when 
the ship blew up. She had money on board (the plunder of 
Malta) to the amount of ^600,000 sterling. The masses of 
burning wreck which were scattered by the explosion excited 
for some moments apprehensions in the English which they 
had never felt from any other danger. Two large pieces fell 
into the main and fore tops of the Swiftsure without injuring 



1 A brave boy. — Every schoolboy is familiar with the poem written by 
Mrs. Hemans in honor of this boy : 

" The boy stood on the burning deck, 
Whence all but he had fled." 



io6 southey's life of nelson. 

any person. A port fire also fell into the main-royal of the 
Alexa7ider : the fire which it occasioned was speedily extin- 
guished. Captain Ball had provided, as far as human foresight 
could provide, against any such danger. All the shrouds and 
sails of his ship not absolutely necessary for its immediate 
management, were thoroughly wetted, and so rolled up that 
they were as hard and as little inflammable as so many solid 
cylinders. 

The firing recommenced with the ships to leeward of 
the center, and continued till about three. At daybreak the 
Guillaume Tell and the Ghiereux, the two rear ships of the 
enemy, were the only French ships of the line which had their 
colors flying ; they cut their cables in the forenoon, not having 
been engaged, and stood out to sea, and two frigates with them. 
The Zealous pursued, but as there was no other ship in a con- 
dition to support Captain Hood, he was recalled. It was gen- 
erally believed by the oflicers that if Nelson had not been 
wounded, not one of these ships could have escaped : the four 
certainly could not if the Culloden had got into action ; and if 
the frigates belonging to the squadron had been present, not 
one of the enemy's fleet would have left Aboukir Bay. These 
four vessels, however, were all that escaped, and the victory 
was the most complete and glorious in the annals of naval 
history. " Victory," said Nelson, " is not a name strong enough 
for such a scene ; " he called it a conquest. 

Of thirteen sail of the line, nine were taken and two burnt ; 
of the four frigates, one was sunk ; another, the Artemise^ was 
burnt in a villainous manner by her captain, M. Estandlet, who 
having fired a broadside at the Theseus^ struck his colors, then 
set fire to the ship, and escaped with most of his crew to shore. 
The British loss in killed and wounded amounted to 895. 
Westcott was the only captain who fell; 3105 of the French, 
including the wounded, were sent on shore by cartel, and 5225 
perished. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. IO7 

The victory was complete,^ but Nelson could not pursue it 
as he would have done, for want of means. Had he been 
provided with small craft, nothing could have prevented the 
destruction of the store-ships and transports in the port of 
Alexandria ; four bomb-vessels would at that time have burnt 
the whole in a few hours. " Were I to die this moment," said 
he in his dispatches to the Admiralty, '' want of frigates would 
be found stamped on my heart ! No words of mine can 
express what I have suffered and am suffering for want of 
them." He had also to bear up against great bodily suffering; 
the blow had so shaken his head, that from its constant and 
violent aching, and the perpetual sickness which accompanied 
the pain, he could scarcely persuade himself that the skull was 
not fractured. Had it not been for Trowbridge, Ball, Hood, 
and Hallowell, he declared that he should have sunk under 
the fatigue of refitting the squadron. '' All," he said, " had 
done well ; but these officers were his supporters." 

But amidst his sufferings and exertions Nelson could yet 
think of all the consequences of his victory, and that no 
advantage from it might be lost, he dispatched an officer 
overland to India, with letters to the governor of Bombay, 
informing him of the arrival of the French in Egypt, the total 
destruction of their fleet, and the consequent preservation of 
India from any attempt against it on the part of this formid- 
able armament. " He knew that Bombay," he said, " was 
their first object if they could get there ; but he trusted that 
Almighty God would overthrow in Egypt these pests of the 

1 " It was this battle which for two years delivered up the Mediterranean 
to the power of England ; summoned thither the Russian squadrons ; left 
the French army isolated amidst a hostile population ; decided the Porte 
in declaring against it ; saved India from French enterprise ; and brought 
France within a hair's breadth of her ruin by reviving the smouldering 
flames of war with Austria and bringing Suwarrow and the Austro-Russians 
to the French frontiers." — Quoted from La Graviere by Pettigrew from 
Plunkett's Last Naval War. 



io8 southey's life of nelson. 

human race. Bonaparte had never yet had to contend with 
an English officer, and he would endeavor to make him respect 
us." This dispatch he sent upon his own responsibility, with 
letters of credit upon the East India Company, addressed to 
the British consuls, vice-consuls, and merchants on his route ; 
Nelson saying, " that if he had done wrong he hoped the bills 
would be paid, and he would repay the Company; for, as an 
Englishman, he should be proud that it had been in his power 
to put our settlements on their guard." The information which 
by this means reached India was of great importance. Orders 
had just been received for defensive preparations upon a scale 
proportionate to the apprehended danger, and the extraordinary 
expenses which would otherwise have been incurred were thus 
prevented. 

Nelson was now at the summit of glory ; congratulations, 
rewards, and honors were showered upon him by all the states 
and princes and powers to whom his victory gave a respite. 
The first communication of this nature which he received was 
from the Turkish Sultan, who, as soon as the invasion of Egypt 
was known, had called upon " all true believers to take arms 
against those swinish infidels, the French, that they might 
deliver these blessed habitations from their accursed hands"; 
and who had ordered his " pashas to turn night into day in 
their efforts to take vengeance." The present of " his Imperial 
Majesty, the powerful, formidable, and most magnificent Grand 
Seignior," was a pelisse of sables with broad sleeves, valued at 
five thousand dollars ; and a diamond aigrette, valued at 
eighteen thousand — the most honorable badge among the 
Turks, and in this instance more especially honorable, because 
it was taken from one of the royal turbans. " If it were worth 
a million," said Nelson to his wife, " my pleasure would be to 
see it in your possession." The Sultan also sent, in a spirit 
worthy of imitation, a purse of two thousand sequins to be dis- 
tributed amongst the wounded. The mother of the Sultan sent 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. lOQ 

him a box set with diamonds, valued at one thousand pounds. 
The Czar Paul, in whom the better part of his strangely com- 
pounded nature at this time predominated, presented him with 
his portrait set in diamonds, in a gold box, accompanied with 
a letter of congratulation written by his own hand. The King 
of Sardinia also wrote to him, and sent a gold box set with 
diamonds. Honors in profusion were awaiting him at Naples. 
In his own country the King granted these honorable 
augmentations to his armorial ensign : a chief undulated, 
argent, thereon waves of the sea, from which a palm-tree 
issuant, between a disabled ship on the dexter and a ruinous 
battery on the sinister, all proper; and for his crest, on a naval 
crown or, the chelengk, or plume, presented to him by the 
Turk, with the motto, Palmafu qui 77ieruit ferat} [Let him 

1 It has been erroneously said that the motto was selected by the Kingj 
it was fixed on by Lord Grenville, and taken from an ode of Jortin's. The 
application was singularly fortunate, and the ode itself breathes a spirit in 
which no man ever more truly sympathized than Nelson : 

Concurrant paribus cum ratibus rates, 
Spectent numina ponti, et 
Palmam qui meruit ferat. 

The incongruity of these additions so greatly disfigured them — simplicity 
being the chief beauty of heraldry — that they needed only the supporters 
suggested by Admiral Goodall, two crocodiles, to have become if possible 
even a still more unfortunate specimen of modern armory. Lady Nelson 
having, very naturally, asked what all these hieroglyphics meant, Sir Isaac 
Heard (Garter King of Arms) gave her the following explanation, which 
may be as necessary to the reader as to her ladyship. " In the chief of the 
arms a palm tree (emblematic of victory) between a disabled ship and a 
ruinous battery, form striking memorials of the glorious event of the ist of 
August in the bay of Aboukir. In the crest, the chelengk is an indication 
of the distinction rendered to his lordship's merits by the Grand Seignior ; 
and the naval crown may bear a striking allusion to his lordship's victory 
in those seas, where the corona navalis was first conferred by the Romans 
on persons who had eminently distinguished themselves in naval combats. 
The palm branch in the hand of the sailor, and in the paw of the lion, is a 



no southey's life of nelson. 

who has won it bear the palm.] And to his supporters, being 
a sailor on the dexter and a lion on the sinister, were given 
these honorable augmentations : a palm branch in the sailor's 
hand and another in the paw of the lion, both proper ; with 
a tri-colored flag and staff in the lion's mouth. He was created 
Baron Nelson of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe, with a 
pension of ^^2000 for his own life and those of his two 
immediate successors. 

When the grant was moved in the House of Commons, 
General Walpole expressed an opinion that a higher degree of 
rank ought to be conferred. Mr. Pitt made answer that he 
thought it needless to enter into that question. " Admiral 
Nelson's fame," he said, "would be coequal with the British 
name, and it would be remembered that he had obtained the 
greatest naval victory on record, when no man would think of 
asking whether he had been created a baron, a viscount, or an 
earl ! " It was strange that in the very act of conferring a title 
the minister should have excused himself for not having con- 
ferred a higher one by representing • all titles on such an 
occasion as nugatory and superfluous. True, indeed, whatever 
title had been bestowed, whether viscount, earl, marquis, duke, 
or prince, if our laws had so permitted, he who received it 
would have been Nelson still. That name he had ennobled 
beyond all addition of nobility : it was the name by which 
England loved him, France feared him, Italy, Egypt, and 
Turkey celebrated him, and by which he will continue to be 
known while the present kingdoms and languages of the world 
endure, and as long as their history after them shall be held in 
remembrance. It depended upon the degree of rank what 

continuation of the emblem in the chief of the arms, as well as allusion to 
the motto, '^ Palm am qui 7neruit ferat.'' The tri-colored flag of the subdued 
enemy was added to, and involved with, the colors in the mouth of the 
lion, which had been granted to his lordship in commemoration of his 
distinguished gallantry and services on the 14th February, 1797." — Sir 
N. H. Nicolas, Nelson's Dispatches. 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. Ill 

should be the fashion of his coronet, in what page of the red 
book ^ his name was to be inserted, and what precedency should 
be allowed his lady in the drawing-room and at the ball. That 
Nelson's honors were affected thus far and no farther might 
be conceded to Mr. Pitt and his colleagues in administration ; 
but the degree of rank which they thought proper to allot was 
the measure of their gratitude, though not of his services.^ 
This Nelson felt, and this he expressed with indignation among 
his friends. 

Whatever may have been the motives of the Ministry, and 
whatever the formalities with which they excused their conduct 
to themselves, the importance and magnitude of the victory 
were universally acknowledged. A grant of ;^i 0,000 was voted 
to Nelson by the East India Company ; the Turkish Company 
presented him with a piece of plate ; the city of London pre- 
sented a sword to him and to each of his captains ; gold medals 
were distributed to the captains, and the first lieutenants of all 
the ships were promoted, as had been done after Lord Howe's 
victory.^ 

1 Red book. — A book bound in red covers in which the names of 
government officers vi^ere recorded. 

2 Mr. Wyndham must be excepted from this well-deserved censure. He, 
whose fate it seems to have been almost always to think and feel more 
generously than those with whom he acted, declared, when he contended 
against his own party for Lord Wellington's peerage, that he always 
thought Lord Nelson had been inadequately rewarded. The case was the 
more flagrant because an earldom had so lately been granted for the battle 
of St. Vincent, — an action which could never be compared with the battle of 
the Nile, if the very different manner in which it was rewarded did not 
necessarily force a comparison, especially when the part that Nelson bore 
in it was considered. Lords Duncan and St. Vincent had each a pension of 
;i^iooo from the Irish government. This was not granted to Nelson, in 
consequence of the Union ; though surely it would be more becoming to 
increase the British grant than to save a thousand a year by the Union in 
such cases. 

^ Lord Howe's Victory. — A great victory over the French was gained 
off Ushaut, by Lord Howe, in 1794. 



112 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Nelson was exceedingly anxious that the captain and first 
lieutenant of the Culloden should not be passed over because of 
their, misfortune. To Trowbridge himself he said: "Let us 
rejoice that the ship which got on shore was commanded by an 
officer whose character is so thoroughly established." To the 
Admiralty he stated that Captain Trowbridge's conduct was as 
fully entitled to praise as that of any one officer in the squadron, 
and as highly deserving of reward. " It was Trowbridge," said 
he, " who equipped the squadron so soon at Syracuse ; it was 
Trowbridge who exerted himself for me after the action ; it was 
Trowbridge who saved the Culloden^ when none that I know in 
the service would have attempted it." The gold medal, there- 
fore, by the King's desire, was given to Captain Trowbridge, 
" for his services both before and since, and for the great and 
wonderful exertion which he made at the time of the action in 
saving and getting off his ship." 

The private letter from the Admiralty to Nelson informed 
him that the first lieutenants of the ships engaged were to be 
promoted. Nelson instantly wrote to the commander-in-chief. 
"I sincerely hope," he said, "this is not intended to exclude 
the first lieutenant of the Culloden. For heaven's sake — for my 
sake — if it be so, g(tt it altered. Our dear friend Trowbridge 
has endured enough. His sufferings were in every respect 
more than any of us." To the Admiralty he wrote in terms 
equally warm : " I hope and believe the word engaged is not 
intended to exclude the Culloden. The merit of that ship and 
her gallant captain are too well known to benefit by anything I 
could say. Her misfortune was great in getting aground while 
her more fortunate companions were in the full tide of happi- 
ness. No, I am confident that my good Lord Spencer will 
never add misery to misfortune. Captain Trowbridge on shore 
is superior to . captains afloat ; in the midst of his great mis- 
fortunes he made those signals which prevented certainly the 
Alexander and Swiftsure from running on the shoals. I beg 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. II3 

your pardon for writing on a subject which, I verily believe, 
has never entered your lordship's head ; but my heart, as it 
ought to be, is warm to my gallant friends." Thus feelingly 
alive was Nelson to the claims and interests and feelings of 
others. The Admiralty replied that the exception was neces- 
sary, as the ship had not been in action ; but they desired the 
commander-in-chief to promote the lieutenant upon the first 
vacancy which should occur. 

Nelson, in remembrance of an old and uninterrupted friend- 
ship, appointed Alexander Davison sole prize-agent for the 
captured ships; upon which Davison ordered medals to be 
struck in gold for the captains, in silver for the lieutenants and 
warrant officers, in gilt metal for petty officers, and in copper 
for the seamen and marines. The cost of this act of liberality 
amounted nearly to ;^2ooo. It is worthy of record on another 
account, for some of the gallant men, who received no other 
honorary badge on that memorable day than this copper medal 
from a private individual, years afterwards, when they died 
upon a foreign station, made it their last request that the 
medals might carefully be sent home to their respective friends. 
So sensible are brave men of honor, in whatever rank they may 
be placed. 



CHAPTER VI. 

FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 

NELSON'S health had suffered greatly while he was in the 
Agamemnon. " My complaint," he said, " is as if a girth 
were buckled taut over my breast, and my endeavor in the 
night is to get it loose." After the battle of Cape St. Vincent 
he felt a little rest to be so essential to his recovery that he 
declared he would not continue to serve longer than the ensuing 
summer, unless it should be absolutely necessary ; for, in his 
own strong language, he had then been four years and nine 
months without one moment's repose for body or mind. A few 
months' intermission of labor he had obtained — not of rest, 
for it was purchased with the loss of a limb ; and the greater 
part of the time had been a season of constant pain. As soon 
as his shattered frame had sufficiently recovered for him to 
resume his duties, he was called to services of greater impor- 
tance than any on which he had hitherto been employed, and 
they brought with them commensurate fatigue and care. 

The anxiety which he endured during his long pursuit of 
the enemy was rather changed in its direction than abated by 
their defeat ; and this constant wakefulness of thought, added 
to the effect of his wound, and the exertions from which it 
was not possible for one of so ardent and wide-reaching a mind 
to spare himself, nearly proved fatal. On his way back to 
Italy he was seized with fever. For eighteen hours his life 
was despaired of ; and even when the disorder took a favorable 
turn, and he was so far recovered as again to appear on deck, 
he himself thought that his end was approaching — such was 
the weakness to which the fever and cough had reduced him. 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. II 5 

Writing to Earl St. Vincent on the passage, he said to him : " I 
never expect, my dear lord, to see your face again. It may 
please God that this will be the finish to that fever of anxiety 
which I have endured from the middle of June ; but be that as 
it pleases His goodness. I am resigned to His will." 

The kindest attentions of the warmest friendship were await- 
ing him at Naples. " Come here, my dear friend," said Sir 
William Hamilton, " as soon as the service will permit you. 
A pleasant apartment is ready for you in my house, and Emma 
is looking out for the softest pillows to repose the few wearied 
limbs you have left." Happy would it have been for Nelson if 
warm and careful friendship had been all that awaited him 
there ! He himself saw at that time the character of the 
Neapolitan Court, as it first struck an Englishman, in its true 
light, and when he was on the way he declared that he 
detested the voyage to Naples, and that nothing but necessity 
could have forced him to it. But never was any hero on his 
return from victory welcomed with more heartfelt joy. Before 
the battle of Aboukir the Court of Naples had been trembling 
for its existence. The language which the Directory held 
towards it was well described by Sir William Hamilton as 
being exactly the language of a highwayman. The Neapolitans 
were told that Benevento might be added to their dominions, 
provided they would pay a large sum, sufficient to satisfy the 
Directory; and they were warned that if the proposal were 
refused, or even if there were any delay in accepting it, the 
French would revolutionize all Italy. 

The joy, therefore, of the Court at Nelson's success was in 
proportion to the dismay from which that success relieved 
them. The queen was a daughter of Maria Theresa and sister 
of Marie Antoinette. Had she been the wisest and gentlest of 
her sex, it would not have been possible for her to have 
regarded the French without hatred and horror; and the 
progress of revolutionary opinions, while it perpetually 



ii6 southey's life of nelson. 

reminded her of her sister's fate, excited no unreasonable 
apprehensions for her own. Her feelings, naturally ardent 
and little accustomed to restraint, were excited to the highest 
pitch when the news of the victory arrived. Lady Hamilton, 
her constant friend and favorite, who was present, says : "It is 
not possible to describe her transports. She wept, she kissed 
her husband, her children, walked frantically about the room, 
burst into tears again, and again kissed and embraced every 
person near her, exclaiming, 'O brave Nelson ! O God, bless 
and protect our brave deliverer ! O Nelson ! Nelson ! what do 
we not owe you ! O conqueror — saviour of Italy! O that my 
swollen heart could now tell him personally what we owe to him.' " 

Such being the feelings of the royal family, it may well be 
supposed with what delight and with what honors Nelson 
would be welcomed. Early on the 2 2d of September the poor 
wretched Vanguard, as he called his shattered vessel, appeared 
in sight of Naples. The CuUoden and Alexander had preceded 
her by some days, and given notice of her approach. Many 
hundred boats and barges were ready to go forth and meet 
him, with music and streamers and every demonstration of joy 
and triumph. Sir William and Lady Hamilton led the way in 
their state barge. They had seen Nelson only for a few days 
four years ago, but they then perceived in him that heroic 
spiritwhich was now so fully and gloriously manifested to the 
world. Emma, Lady Hamilton, who from this time so greatly 
influenced his future life, was a woman whose personal accom- 
plishments have seldom been equaled, and whose powers of 
mind^were not less fascinating than her person. She was pas- 
sionately attached to the queen, and by her influence the 
British fleet had obtained those supplies at Syracuse without 
which, Nelson always asserted, the battle of Aboukir could not 
have been fought. 

During the long interval which passed before any tidings 
were received her anxiety had been hardly less than that of 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. I I / 

Nelson himself, while pursuing an enemy of whom he could 
obtain no information ; and when the tidings were brought 
her by a joyful bearer open-mouthed, its effect was such that 
she felt like one who had been shot. She and Sir William had 
literally been made ill by their hopes and fears and joy, at a 
catastrophe so far exceeding all that they had dared to hope 
for. Their admiration for the hero necessarily produced a 
degree of proportionate gratitude and affection; and when their 
barge came alongside the Vanguard^ at the sight of Nelson 
Lady Hamilton almost fainted, and came on deck more like one 
dead than alive. He described the meeting as " terribly affect- 
ing." These friends had scarcely recovered from their tears 
when the king, who went out to meet him three leagues in the 
royal barge, came on board and took him by the hand, calling 
him his deliverer and preserver ; from all the boats around he 
was saluted with the same appellations ; the multitude who 
surrounded him when he landed repeated the same enthusiastic 
cries ; and the lazzaroni displayed their joy by holding up birds 
in cages, and giving them their liberty as he passed. 

His birthday, which occurred a week after his arrival, was 
celebrated with one of the most splendid y?/^j- ever beheld at 
Naples. 

The battle of the Nile shook the power of France. Her 
most successful general and her finest army were blocked up 
in Egypt — hopeless, as it appeared, of return ; and the gov- 
ernment was in the hands of men without talents, without 
character, and divided among themselves. Austria, whom 
Bonaparte had terrified into a peace at a time when constancy 
on her part would probably have led to his destruction, took 
advantage of the crisis to renew the war. Russia also was 
preparing to enter the field with unbroken forces, led by a 
general whose extraordinary military genius ^ would have en- 

^ Military genius. — Suwarrow, the celebrated Russian general (1730- 
1800). It is said that he never lost a battle. 



ii8 southey's life of nelson. 

titled him to a high and honorable rank in history if it had not 
been sullied by all the ferocity of a barbarian. Naples, see- 
ing its destruction at hand, and thinking that the only means 
of averting it was by meeting the danger, after long vacilla- 
tions, which were produced by the fears and weakness and 
treachery of its council, agreed at last to join this new coali- 
tion ^ with a numerical force of 80,000 men. 

Nelson told the king in plain terms that he had his choice 
either to advance, trusting to God for His blessing on a just 
cause, and prepared to die sword in hand ; or to remain quiet 
and be kicked out of his kingdom: one of these things must 
happen. The king made answer he would go on, and trust in 
God and Nelson ; and Nelson, who would else have returned 
to Egypt for the purpose of destroying the French shipping in 
Alexandria, gave up his intention at the desire of the Neapo- 
litan Court, and resolved to remain on that station in the hope 
that he might be useful to the movements of the army. He 
suspected also, with reason, that the continuance of his fleet 
was so earnestly requested because the royal family thought 
their persons would be safer, in case of any mishap, under the 
British flag than under their own. 

His first object was the recovery of Malta, an island which 
the King of Naples pretended to claim. The Maltese, whom 
the villainous knights of their order ^ had betrayed to France, 
had taken up arms against their rapacious invaders with a 
spirit and unanimity worthy the highest praise. They blockaded 
the French garrison by land, and a small squadron under Cap- 
tain Ball began to blockade them by sea on the 12 th of October. 

1 New coalition. — This is known as Pitt's second coalition, signed 
June 22, 1799, between England, Russia, Germany, Naples, Portugal, and 
Turkey. 

2 Knights of their order. — The Knights of St. John, afterward known 
as the Knights of Malta. The island of Malta was given to them by 
Charles V. in 1530. They surrendered their island to Napoleon in 1798 
without resistance. Hence the force here of the epithet villainous. 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. II 9 

Twelve days afterwards Nelson arrived, and the little island 
of Gozo, dependent upon Malta, which had also been seized 
and garrisoned by the French, capitulated soon after his arrival, 
and was taken possession of by the British in the name of his 
Sicilian Majesty, — a. power who had no better claim to it than 
France. Having seen this effected and reinforced Captain 
Ball, he left that able officer to perform a most arduous and 
important part, and returned himself to cooperate with the 
intended movements of the Neapolitans. 

General Mack was at the head of the Neapolitan troops. 
All that is now doubtful concerning this man is whether he 
was a coward or a traitor: at that time he was assiduously 
extolled as a most consummate commander, to whom Europe 
might look for deliverance ; and when he was introduced by 
the king and queen to the British admiral, the queen said to 
him, " Be to us by land, general, what my hero Nelson has 
been by sea." Mack on his part did not fail to praise the force 
which he was appointed to command; "It was," he said, " the 
finest army in Europe." Nelson agreed with him that there 
could not be finer men ; but when the general, at a review, so 
directed the operations of a mock fight that by an unhappy 
blunder his own troops were surrounded instead of those of the 
enemy, he turned to his friends, and exclaimed with bitterness 
that the fellow did not understand his business. Another cir- 
cumstance, not less characteristic, confirmed Nelson in his judg- 
ment. " General Mack," said he in one of his letters, " cannot 
move without five carriages ! I have formed my opinion. I 
heartily pray I may be mistaken." 

While Mack at the head of 32,000 men marched into the 
Roman state, 5000 Neapolitans were embarked on board the 
British and Portuguese squadron to take possession of Leghorn. 
This was effected without opposition, and the Grand Duke of 
Tuscany, whose neutrality had been so outrageously violated 
by the French, was better satisfied with the measure than some 



1 20 SOUTHEY S LIFE OP NELSON. 

of the Neapolitans themselves. Naselli, their general, refused 
to seize the French vessels at Leghorn, because he and the 
Duke di Sangro, who was ambassador at the Tuscan Court, 
maintained that the King of Naples was not at war with 
France. " What ! " said Nelson, " has not the king received, as 
a conquest made by him, the republican flag taken at Gozo ? 
Is not his own flag flying there and at Malta, not only by his 
permission, but by his order ? Is not his flag shot at every 
day by the French, and their shot returned from batteries 
which bear that flag ? Are not two frigates and a corvette 
placed under my orders ready to fight the French, meet them 
where they may ? Has not the king sent publicly from Naples 
guns, mortars, etc., with officers and artillery, against the French 
in Malta ? If these acts are not tantamount to any written 
paper, I give up all knowledge of what is war." 

This reasoning was of less avail than argument addressed to 
the general's fears. Nelson told him that if he permitted the 
many hundred French who were then in the mole to remain 
neutral till they had a fair opportunity of being active, they 
had one sure resource if all other schemes failed, which was to 
set one vessel on fire ; the mole would be destroyed, probably 
the town also, and the port ruined for twenty years. This 
representation made Naselli agree to the half-measure of laying 
an embargo on the vessels ; among them were a great number 
of French privateers, some of which were of such force as to 
threaten the greatest mischief to our commerce, and about 
seventy sail of vessels belonging to the Ligurian Republic, as 
Genoa was now called, laden with corn and ready to sail for 
Genoa and France, where their arrival would have expedited 
the entrance of more French troops into Italy. 

" The general," said Nelson, " saw, I believe, the conse- 
quence of permitting these vessels to depart in the same light 
as myself ; but there is this difference between us, — he pru- 
dently, and certainly safely, waits the orders of his Court, tak- 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 121 

ing no responsibility upon himself ; I act from the circumstances 
of the moment as I feel may be most advantageous for the 
cause which I serve, taking all responsibility on myself." 

It was in vain to hope for anything vigorous or manly from 
such men as Nelson was compelled to act with. The crews of 
the French ships and their allies were ordered to depart in two 
days. Four days elapsed, and nobody obeyed the order; nor in 
spite of the representations of the British minister, Mr. Wynd- 
ham, were any means taken to enforce it. The true Neapolitan 
shuffle, as Nelson called it, took place on all occasions. After 
an absence of ten days he returned to Naples, and receiving 
intelligence there from Mr. Wyndham that the privateers were 
at last to be disarmed, the corn landed, and the crews sent 
away, he expressed satisfaction at the news in characteristic 
language, saying, " So far I am content. The enemy will be 
distressed, and, thank God, I shall get no money. The world, 
I know, thinks that money is our god, and now they will be 
undeceived as far as relates to us." 

Odes, sonnets, and congratulatory poems of every description 
were poured in upon Nelson on his arrival at Naples. An 
Irish Franciscan, who was one of the poets, not being content 
with panegyric, upon this occasion ventured upon a flight of 
prophecy, and predicted that Lord Nelson would take Rome 
with his ships. His lordship reminded Father M'Cormick that 
ships could not ascend the Tiber ; but the father, who had 
probably forgotten this circumstance, met the objection with a 
bold front, and declared he saw that it would come to pass 
notwithstanding. 

Rejoicings of this kind were of short duration. The King 
of Naples was with the army which had entered Rome, but the 
castle of St. Angelo was held by the French, and 13,000 
French were strongly posted in the Roman States at Castal- 
lana. Mack had marched against them with 20,000 men. 
Nelson saw that the event was doubtful, or rather that there 



122 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

could be very little hope of the result. But the immediate 
fate of Naples, as he well knew, hung upon the issue. " If 
Mack is defeated," said he, '' in fourteen days this country is 
lost, for the emperor has not yet moved his army, and Naples 
has not the power of resisting the enemy," 

His fears were soon verified. " The Neapolitan officers," 
said Nelson, " did not lose much honor, for God knows they 
had not much to lose ; but they lost all they had." General 
St. Philip commanded the right wing of 19,000 men. He fell 
in with 3000 of the enemy, and as soon as he came near enough 
deserted to them. One of his men had virtue enough to level 
a musket at him, and shot him through the arm ; but the wound 
was not sufiicient to prevent him from joining with the French 
in pursuit of his own countrymen. Cannon, tents, baggage, 
and military chest were all forsaken by the runaways, though 
they lost only forty men ; for the French, having put them to 
flight and got possession of everything, did not pursue an army 
of more than three times their own number. The main body 
of the Neapolitans, under Mack, did not behave better. The 
king returned to Naples, where every day brought with it the 
tidings of some new disgrace from the army, and the discovery 
of some new treachery at home ; till four days after his return, 
the general sent him advice that there was no prospect of 
stopping the progress of the enemy, and that the royal family 
must Look to their own personal safety. 

On the night of the 21st, at half past eight, Nelson landed, 
brought out the whole of the royal family, embarked them in 
three barges, and carried them safely through a tremendous sea 
to the Vanguard. Notice was then immediately given to the 
British merchants that they would be received on board any 
ship in the squadron. Their property had been previously 
embarked in transports. Two days were passed in the bay, for 
the purpose of taking such persons on board as required an 
asylum ; and on the night of the 23d the fleet sailed. The next 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 123 

day a more violent storm arose than Nelson had ever before 
encountered. On the 25th the youngest of the princes was 
taken ill, and died in Lady Hamilton's arms. During this 
whole trying season Lady Hamilton waited upon the royal 
family with the zeal of the most devoted servant, at a time when, 
except one man, no person belonging to the Court assisted them. 

On the morning of the 26th the royal family were landed at 
Palermo. 

The King of Sardinia, finding it impossible longer to endure 
the exactions of France and the insults of the French commis- 
sary, went to Leghorn, embarked on board a Danish frigate, 
and sailed under British protection to Sardinia — that part of 
his dominions which the maritime supremacy of England 
rendered a secure asylum. On his arrival he published a 
protest against the conduct of France, declaring, upon the faith 
and word of a king, that he had never infringed, even in the 
slightest degree, the treaties which he had made with the French 
Republic. 

Tuscany was soon occupied by French troops ; a fate which 
bolder policy might perhaps have failed to avert, but which its 
weak and timid neutrality rendered inevitable. Nelson began 
to fear even for Sicily. '' Oh, my dear sir," said he, writing to 
Commodore Duckworth, *' one thousand English troops would 
save Messina, and I fear General Stuart cannot give me 
men to save this most important island ! " But his represen- 
tations were not lost upon Sir Charles Stuart : this officer 
hastened immediately from Minorca with a thousand men, 
assisted in the measures of defense which were taken, and 
did not return before he had satisfied himself that, if the 
Neapolitans were excluded from the management of affairs, and 
the spirit of the peasantry properly directed, Sicily was safe. 
Before his coming. Nelson had offered the king, if no resources 
should arrive, to defend Messina with a ship's company of an 
English man-of-war. 



1 24 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Russia had now entered into the war. Corfu surrendered 
to a Russian and Turkish fleet, acting now for the first time in 
strange confederacy, yet against a power which was certainly 
the common and worst enemy of both. Trowbridge having 
given up the blockade of Alexandria to Sir Sydney Smith, 
joined Nelson, bringing with him a considerable addition of 
strength ; and in himself, what Nelson valued more, a man 
upon whose sagacity, indefatigable zeal, and inexhaustible 
resources he could place full reliance. Trowbridge was in- 
structed to commence the operations against the French in the 
Bay of Naples ; meantime Cardinal Ruffo, a man of question- 
able character, but of a temper fitted for such times, having 
landed in Calabria, raised what he called a Christian army, 
composed of the best and vilest materials, — loyal peasants, 
enthusiastic priests and friars, galley slaves, the emptying of 
the jails, and banditti. The islands in the Bay of Naples were 
joyfully delivered up by the inhabitants, who were in a state 
of famine already from the effect of this baleful revolution. 
Trowbridge distributed among them all his flour ; and Nelson 
pressed the Sicilian Court incessantly for supplies, telling them 
that ^10,000 given away in provisions would at this time 
purchase a kingdom. Money, he was told, they had not to 
give ; and the wisdom and integrity which might have supplied 
its want were not to be found. " There is nothing," said he, 
" which I propose that is not, as far as orders go, implicitly 
complied with ; but the execution is dreadful, and almost 
makes me mad. My desire to serve their Majesties faithfully, 
as is my duty, has been such that I am almost blind and worn 
out, and cannot in my present state hold much longer." 

About this time intelligence arrived that the French fleet had 
escaped from Brest under cover of a fog, passed Cadiz, unseen 
by Lord Keith's squadron, in hazy weather, and entered the 
Mediterranean. It was said to consist of twenty-four sail of 
the line, six frigates, and three sloops. The object of the 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 1 25 

French was to liberate the Spanish fleet, form a junction with 
them, act against Minorca and Sicily, and overpower our naval 
force in the Mediterranean by falling in with detached squad- 
rons and thus destroying it in detail. When they arrived off 
Carthagena they requested the Spanish ships to make sail and 
join, but the Spaniards replied they had not men to man them. 
To this it was answered that the French had men enough on 
board for that purpose. But the Spaniards seem to have been 
apprehensive of delivering up their ships thus entirely into the 
power of such allies, and refused to come out. The fleet from 
Cadiz, however, consisting of seventeen to twenty sail of the 
line, got out, under Masaredo, a man who then bore an honor- 
able name, which he afterwards rendered infamous by betraying 
his country. They met with a violent storm off the coast 
of Oran, which dismasted many of their ships, and so effectually 
disabled them as to prevent the junction and frustrate a well- 
planned expedition. 

Before this occurred, and while the junction was as probable 
as it would have been formidable. Nelson was in a state of the 
greatest anxiety. " What a state am I in ! " said he to Earl 
St. Vincent. " If I go I risk, and more than risk, Sicily ; for 
we know from experience that more depends upon opinion 
than upon acts themselves, and as I stay my heart is breaking." 
His first business was to summon Trowbridge to join him, with 
all the ships of the line under his command, and a frigate if 
possible. Then hearing that the French had entered the 
Mediterranean, and expecting them at Palermo, where he had 
only his own ship, with that single ship he prepared to make 
all the resistance possible. Trowbridge having joined him, he 
left Captain E. J. Foote, of the Seahorse, to command the 
smaller vessels in the Bay of Naples, and sailed with six ships 
— one a Portuguese, and a Portuguese corvette — telling Earl 
St. Vincent that the squadron should never fall into the hands 
of the enemy. " And before we are destroyed," said he, " I 



126 southey's life of nelson. 

have little doubt but they will have their wings so completely 
clipped, that they may be easily overtaken." 

It was just at this time that he received from Captain 
Hallowell the present of the coffin. Such a present was 
regarded by the men with natural astonishment ; one of his 
old shipmates in the Aga7?ie??inoji said : " We shall have hot 
work of it indeed ! You see the admiral intends to fight till 
he is killed ; and there he is to be buried ! " Nelson placed it 
upright against the bulkhead of his cabin, behind his chair 
where he sat at dinner. The gift suited him at this time. It 
is said that he was disappointed in the son-in-law whom he had 
loved so dearly from his childhood, and who had saved his life 
at Teneriffe. 

Nelson was dissatisfied with himself, and therefore weary of 
the world. This feeling he now frequently expressed. '' There 
is no true happiness in this life," said he, " and in my present 
state I could quit it with a smile." And in a letter to his old 
friend Davison he said : " Believe me, my only wish is to sink 
with honor into the grave ; and when that shall please God, 
I shall meet death with a smile. Not that I am insensible to 
the honors and riches my King and country have heaped upon 
me — so much more than any officer could deserve; yet am I 
ready to quit this world of trouble, and envy none but those of 
the estate six feet by two." 

While he sailed from Palermo with the intention of collecting 
his whole force, and keeping off Maretimo, either to receive 
reinforcements there if the French were bound upwards, or to 
hasten to Minorca if that should be their destination. Captain 
Foote, in the Seahorse, with the Neapolitan frigates and some 
small vessels under his command, was left to act with a land 
force, consisting of a few regular troops of four different nations, 
and with the armed rabble which Cardinal Ruffo called the 
Christian army. His directions were to cooperate to the utmost 
of his power with royalists at whose head Ruffo had been 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 12/ 

placed, and he had no other instructions whatever, Ruffo 
advancing without any plan, but relying upon the enemy's want 
of numbers, which prevented them from attempting to act upon 
the offensive, and ready to take advantage of any accident 
which might occur, approached Naples. Fort St. Elmo, which 
commands the town, was wholly garrisoned by the French 
troops ; the castles of Uovo and Nuovo, which commanded the 
anchorage, were chiefly defended by Neapolitan revolutionists, 
the powerful men among them having taken shelter there. If 
these castles were taken the reduction of Fort St. Elmo would 
be greatly expedited. They were strong places, and there was 
reason to apprehend that the French fleet might arrive to 
relieve them. 

Ruffo proposed to the garrison to capitulate, on condition 
that their persons and property should be guaranteed, and that 
they should at their own option either be sent to Toulon or 
remain at Naples, without being molested either in their 
persons or families. This capitulation was accepted. It was 
signed by the cardinal and the Russian and Turkish com- 
manders, and lastly by Captain Foote, as commander of the 
British force. About six and thirty hours afterwards Nelson 
arrived in the bay with a force, which had joined him during 
his cruise, consisting of seventeen sail of the line, with 1700 
troops on board, and the prince royal of Naples in the admiral's 
ship. A flag of truce was flying on the castles and on board 
the Seahorse. Nelson made a signal to annul the treaty, 
declaring that he would grant rebels no other terms than those 
of unconditional submission. 

The cardinal objected to this, nor could all the arguments of 
Nelson, Sir William Hamilton, and Lady Hamilton, who took 
an active part in the conference, convince him that a treaty 
of such a nature, solemnly concluded, could honorably be set 
aside. He retired at last, silenced by Nelson's authority, but 
not convinced. Captain Foote was sent out of the bay, and 



128 southey's life of nelson. 

the garrisons, taken out of the castles under pretense of carry- 
ing the treaty into effect, were dehvered over as rebels to the 
vengeance of the Sicilian Court. A deplorable transaction, 
— a stain upon the memory of Nelson and the honor of Eng- 
land ! To palliate it would be in vain ; to justify it would be 
wicked. There is no alternative for one who will not make 
himself a participator in guilt but to record the disgraceful 
story with sorrow and with shame. 

The castles of St. Elmo, Gaieta, and Capua remained to be 
subdued. On the land side there was no danger that the 
French in these garrisons should be relieved, for Suvorof was 
now beginning to drive the enemy before him ; but Nelson 
thought his presence necessary in the Bay of Naples, and when 
Lord Keith, having received intelligence that the French and 
Spanish fleets had formed a junction and sailed for Carthagena, 
ordered him to repair to Minorca with the whole or the greater 
part of his force, he sent Admiral Duckworth with a small part 
only. This was a dilemma which he had foreseen. " Should 
such an order come at this moment," he said in a letter previ- 
ously written to the Admiralty, " it would be a case for some 
consideration whether Minorca is to be risked, or the two 
kingdoms of Naples and Sicily ; I rather think my decision 
would be to risk the former." And after he had acted upon 
this opinion he wrote in these terms to the Duke of Clarence, 
with whose high notions of obedience he was well acquainted : 
" I am well aware of the consequences of disobeying my orders ; 
but as I have often before risked my life for the good cause, so 
I with cheerfulness did my commission ; for although a military 
tribunal may think me criminal, the world will approve of my 
conduct ; and I regard not my own safety when the honor of 
my King is at stake." 

Nelson was right in his judgment — no attempt was made 
upon Minorca ; and the expulsion of the French from Naples 
may rather be said to have been effected than accelerated by 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY, 1 29 

the English and Portuguese of the allied fleet, acting upon 
shore under Trowbridge. 

The Admiralty, however, thought it expedient to censure 
him for disobeying Lord Keith's orders, and thus hazarding 
Minorca, without, as it appeared to them, any sufficient reason; 
and also for having landed seamen for the siege of Capua to 
form part of an army employed in operations at a distance 
from the coast, where in case of defeat they might have been 
prevented from returning to their ships; and they enjoined him 
" not to employ the seamen in like manner in the future." 
This reprimand was issued before the event was known, though 
indeed the event would not affect the principle upon which it 
proceeded. When Nelson communicated the tidings of his 
complete success he said in his public letter that " it would not 
be the less acceptable for having been principally brought 
about by British sailors." His judgment in thus employing 
them had been justified by the result, and his joy was evi- 
dently heightened by the gratification of a professional and 
becoming pride. To the First Lord he said at the same time, 
" I certainly, from having only a left hand, cannot enter into 
details which may explain the motives that actuated my con- 
duct. My principle is to assist in driving out the French, and 
in restoring peace and happiness to mankind. I feel that I am 
fitter to do the action than to describe it." He then added 
that he would take care of Minorca. 

The Sicilian Court, however, were at this time duly sensible 
of the services which had been rendered them by the British 
fleet, and their gratitude to Nelson was shown with proper 
and princely munificence. They gave him the dukedom and 
domain of Bronte, Worth about ;^3ooo a year. It was some 
days before he could be persuaded to accept it ; the argument 
which finally prevailed is said to have been suggested by the 
queen, and urged at her request by Lady Hamilton upon her 
knees. " He considered his own honor too much," she said, 



1 30 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

" if he persisted in refusing what the king and queen felt to be 
absolutely necessary for the preservation of theirs." The king 
himself also is said to have addressed him in words which show 
that the sense of rank will sometimes confer a virtue upon 
those who seem to be most unworthy of the lot to which they 
have been born. " Lord Nelson, do you wish that your name 
alone should pass with honor to posterity, and that I, Ferdi- 
nand Bourbon, should appear ungrateful ? " 

He gave him also, when the dukedom was accepted, a dia- 
mond-hilted sword, which his father, Charles III. of Spain, had 
given him on his accession to the throne of the two Sicilies. 
Nelson said, "the reward was magnificent and worthy of a 
king, and he was determined that the inhabitants on the 
domain should be the happiest in all his Sicilian Majesty's 
dominions. Yet," said he, speaking of these and the other 
remunerations which were made him for his services, " these 
presents, rich as they are, do not elevate me. My pride is, 
that at Constantinople, from the grand seignior to the lowest 
Turk, the name of Nelson is familiar in their mouths ; and in 
this country I am everything which a grateful monarch and 
people can call me." 

Nelson, however, had a pardonable pride in the outward and 
visible signs of honor which he had so fairly won. He was 
fond of his Sicilian title: the signification perhaps pleased 
him — Duke of Thunder was what in Dahomy would be called 
a strong name. It was to a sailor's taste, and certainly to no 
man could it ever be more applicable. But a simple offering, 
which he received not long afterwards from the island of Zante, 
affected him with a deeper and finer feeling. The Greeks of 
that little community sent him a golden-headed sword and a 
truncheon, set round with all the diamonds that the island 
could furnish, in a single row. They thanked him '* for having 
by his victory preserved that part of Greece from the horrors 
of anarchy, and prayed that his exploits might accelerate the 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. I3I 

day in which, amidst the glory and peace of thrones, the 
miseries of the human race would cease." This unexpected 
tribute touched Nelson to the heart. " No officer," he said, 
" had ever received from any country a higher acknowledg- 
ment of his services." 

The French still occupied the Roman States, from which, 
according to their own admission, they had extorted in jewels, 
plate, specie, and requisitions of every kind to the enormous 
amount of eight millions sterling, yet they affected to appear as 
deliverers among the people whom they were thus cruelly plun- 
dering, and they distributed portraits of Bonaparte with the 
blasphemous inscription, " This is the true likeness of the holy 
savior of the world ! " The people, detesting the impiety, and 
groaning beneath the exactions of these perfidious robbers, 
were ready to join any regular force that should come to their 
assistance ; but they dreaded Cardinal Ruffo's rabble, and 
declared they would resist him as a bandit who came only for 
the purpose of pillage. 

Nelson perceived that no object was now so essential for the 
tranquillity of Naples as the recovery of Rome, which in the 
present state of things, when Suvorof was driving the French 
before him, would complete the deliverance of Italy. He 
applied, therefore, to Sir James St. Clair Erskine, who, in the 
absence of General Fox, commanded at Minorca, to assist in 
this great object with twelve hundred men. '' The field of 
glory," said he, " is a large one, and was never more open to 
any one than at this moment to you. Rome would throw open 
her gates and receive you as her deliverer, and the Pope would 
owe his restoration to a heretic." But Sir James Erskine 
looked only at the difficulties of the undertaking. " Twelve 
hundred men," he thought, " would be too small a force to be 
committed in such an enterprise, for Civita Vecchia was a 
regular fortress ; the local situation and climate also were 
such that even if this force were adequate it would be proper 



132 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

to delay the expedition till October. General Fox, too, was 
soon expected, and during his absence and under existing cir- 
cumstances he did not feel justified in sending away such a 
detachment." 

What this general thought it imprudent to attempt, Nelson 
and Trowbridge effected without his assistance, by a small 
detachment from the fleet. 

Having thus completed his work upon the continent of Italy, 
Nelson's whole attention was directed towards Malta, where 
Captain Ball, with most inadequate means, was besieging the 
French garrison. Never was any officer engaged in a more 
anxious and painful service. The smallest reinforcement from 
France would at any moment have turned the scale against 
him ; and had it not been for his consummate ability and the 
love and veneration with which the Maltese regarded him, 
Malta must have remained in the hands of the enemy. Men, 
money, food, — all things were wanting. The garrison con- 
sisted of five thousand troops, the besieging force of five 
hundred English and Portuguese marines, and about fifteen 
hundred armed peasants. Long and repeatedly did Nelson 
solicit troops to effect the reduction of this important place. 
" It has been no fault of the navy," said he, " that Malta has 
not been attacked by land ; but we have neither the means 
ourselves nor influence with those who have." 

The' same causes of demurral existed, which prevented 
British troops from assisting in the expulsion of the French 
from Rome. Sir James Erskine was expecting General 
Fox, — he could not act without orders ; and not having, 
like Nelson, that lively spring of hope within him which 
partakes enough of the nature of faith to work miracles 
in war, he thought it " evident that unless a respectable 
land force, in numbers sufficient to undertake the siege of 
such a garrison, in one of the strongest places of Europe, 
and supplied with proportionate artillery and stores, were 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 1 33 

sent against it, no reasonable hope could be entertained of 
its surrender." 

At length General Fox arrived at Minorca, and, at length, 
permitted Colonel Graham to go to Malta, but with means 
miserably limited. In fact, the expedition was at a stand for 
want of money, when Trowbridge, arriving at Messina to co- 
operate in it, and finding this fresh delay, immediately offered 
all that he could command of his own. " I procured him, my 
lord," said he to Nelson, " fifteen thousand of my cobs : every 
farthing and every atom of me shall be devoted to the cause." 
"What can this mean?" said Nelson, when he learned that 
Colonel Graham was ordered not to incur any expenses for 
stores or any articles except provisions. " The cause cannot 
stand still for want of a little money. If nobody will pay it, I 
will sell Bronte and the Emperor of Russia's box." And he 
actually pledged Bronte for ^6600 if there should be any diffi- 
culty about paying the bills. 

The long-delayed expedition was thus at last sent forth, but 
Trowbridge little imagined in what scenes of misery he was to 
bear his part. He looked to Sicily for supplies: it was the in- 
terest as well as the duty of the Sicilian government to use 
every exertion for furnishing them; and Nelson and the British 
ambassador were on the spot to press upon them the necessity 
of exertion. But though Nelson saw with what a knavish crew 
the Sicilian Court was surrounded, he was blind to the vices of 
the Court itself; and resigning himself wholly to Lady Hamil- 
ton's influence, never even suspected the crooked policy which 
it was remorselessly pursuing. The Maltese and the British in 
Malta severely felt it. Trowbridge, who had the truest affection 
for Nelson, knew his infatuation, and feared that it might prove 
injurious to his character as well as fatal to an enterprise which 
had begun so well and been carried on so patiently. " My 
lord," said he, writing to him from the siege, " we are dying oil 
fast for want. I learn that Sir William Hamilton says Prince 



I 34 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Luzzi refused corn some time ago, and Sir William does not 
think it worth while making another application. If that be 
the case, I wish he commanded this distressing scene instead 
of me. Puglia had an immense harvest: nearly thirty sail left 
Messina before I did, to load corn. Will they let us have any ? 
If not, a short time will decide the business. The German in- 
terest prevails. I wish I was at your lordship's elbow for an 
hour. All, all, will be thrown on you ! I will parry the blow 
as much as in my power : I foresee much mischief brewing. 
God bless your lordship ! I am miserable ; I cannot assist your 
operations more. Many happy returns of the day to you. (It 
was the first day of the new year.) I never spent so miserable 
a one. I am not very tender-hearted, but really the distress 
here would even move a Neapolitan." 

Soon afterwards he wrote : " I have this day saved thirty 
thousand people from starving, but with this day my ability 
ceases. As the government are bent on starving us, I see no 
alternative but to leave these poor unhappy people to perish, 
without our being witnesses of their distress. I curse the 
day I ever served the Neapolitan government. We have char- 
acters, my lord, to lose : these people have none. Do not suffer 
their infamous conduct to fall on us. Our country is just, but 
severe. Such is the fever of my brain this minute, that I 
assure you, on my honor, if the Palermo traitors were here, I 
would shoot them first, and then myself. Girgenti is full of 
corn ; the money is ready to pay for it, we do not ask it as a 
gift. Oh ! could you see the horrid distress I daily experience, 
something would be done. Some engine is at work against us 
at Naples, and I believe I hit on the proper person. If you 
complain, he will be immediately promoted, agreeably to the 
Neapolitan custom. All I write to you is known at the queen's. 
For my own part, I look upon the Neapolitans as the worst 
of intriguing enemies: every hour shows me their infamy and 
duplicity. I pray your lordship, be cautious: your honest, 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 135 

open manner of acting will be made a handle of. When I see 
you and tell of their infamous tricks you will be as much sur- 
prised as I am. The whole will fall on you." 

Nelson was not, and could not be, insensible to the distress 
which his friend so earnestly represented. He begged, almost 
on his knees, he said, small supplies of money and corn to keep 
the Maltese from starving. And when the Court granted a 
small supply, protesting their poverty, he believed their pro- 
testations and was satisfied with their professions, instead of 
insisting that the restrictions upon the exportation of corn 
should be withdrawn. The anxiety, however, which he 
endured affected him so deeply that he said it had broken 
his spirit forever. Happily, all that Trowbridge with so 
much reason foreboded, did not come to pass ; for Captain 
Ball, with more decision than Nelson himself would have 
shown at that time and upon that occasion, ventured upon a 
resolute measure, for which his name would deserve always to 
be held in veneration by the Maltese, even if it had no other 
claims to the love and reverence of a grateful people. Find- 
ing it hopeless longer to look for succor or common humanity 
from the deceitful and infatuated Court of Sicily, which per- 
sisted in prohibiting by sanguinary edicts the exportation of 
supplies, at his own risk he sent his first lieutenant to the port 
of Girgenti with orders to seize and bring with him to Malta 
the ships which were there lying laden with corn, of the num- 
ber of which he had received accurate information. These 
orders were executed, to the great delight and advantage of the 
shipowners and proprietors ; the necessity of raising the siege 
was removed, and Captain Ball waited in calmness for the con- 
sequences to himself. " But," said Mr. Coleridge, " the sole 
result was that the Governor of Malta became an especial ob- 
ject of the hatred, fear, and respect of the Court of Naples." 

Nelson himself, at the beginning of February, sailed for that 
island. On the way he fell in with a French squadron bound 



136 southey's life of nelson. 

for its relief, and consisting of the Ghiereiix, seventy-four, three 
frigates, and a corvette. One of these frigates and the line-of- 
battle ship were taken ; the others escaped, but failed in their 
purpose of reaching La Valette. This success was peculiarly 
gratifying to Nelson for many reasons. During some months 
he had acted as commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean while 
Lord Keith was in England. Lord Keith returned ; and 
Nelson had, upon his own plan, and at his own risk, left him, 
to sail for Malta, " for which," said he, '' if I had not succeeded, 
I might have been broke ; and if I had not acted thus, the 
Ghiereiix never would have been taken." 

This ship was one of those which had escaped from Aboukir. 
Two frigates and the Guillaume Tell, eighty-six, were all that 
now remained of the fleet which Bonaparte had conducted to 
Egypt. The Guillaimie Tell was at this time closely watched 
in the harbor of La Valette ; and shortly afterwards, attempt- 
ing to make her escape from thence, was taken, after an action 
in which greater skill was never displayed by British ships, 
nor greater gallantry by an enemy. She was taken by the 
Foudroyant, Lion, and Penelope frigate. Nelson, rejoicing at 
what he called this glorious finish to the whole French Medi- 
terranean fleet, rejoiced also that he was not present to have 
taken a sprig off these brave men's laurels. " They are," said 
he, " and I glory in them, my children : they served in my 
school ; and all of us caught our professional zeal and fire from 
the great and good Earl St. Vincent. What a pleasure, what 
happiness, to have the Nile fleet all taken, under my orders 
and regulations ! " The two frigates still remained in La 
Valette. Before its surrender they stole out : one was taken in 
the attempt ; the other was the only ship of the whole fleet 
which escaped capture or destruction. 

Letters were found on board the Guillaume Tell showing that 
the French were now become hopeless of preserving the con- 
quest which they had so foully acquired. Trowbridge and his 



FIGHTING THE FRENCH IN ITALY. 1 3/ 

brother officers were anxious that Nelson should have the 
honor of signing the capitulation. They told him that they 
absolutely, as far as they dared, insisted on his staying to do 
this ; but their earnest and affectionate entreaties were vain. 
Sir William Hamilton had just been superseded; Nelson had 
no feeling of cordiality towards Lord Keith; and thinking that, 
after Earl St. Vincent, no man had so good a claim to the 
command in the Mediterranean as himself, he applied for per- 
mission to return to England, telling the First Lord of the 
Admiralty that his spirit could not submit patiently, and that 
he was a broken-hearted man. 

A ship could not be spared to convey him to England ; he 
therefore traveled through Germany to Hamburg, in company 
with his inseparable friends, Sir WiUiam and Lady Hamilton. 
The Queen of Naples went with them to Vienna. While they 
were at Leghorn, upon a report that the French were approach- 
ing (for through the folly of weak Courts and the treachery of 
venal Cabinets they had now recovered their ascendency in 
Italy), the people rose tumultuously, and would fain have- 
persuaded Nelson to lead them against the enemy. Public 
honors and yet more gratifying testimonials of public ad- 
miration awaited Nelson wherever he went. The Prince of 
Esterhazy entertained him in a style of Hungarian magnifi- 
cence — a hundred grenadiers, each six feet in height, con- 
stantly waiting at table. At Madgeburg, the master of the 
hotel where he was entertained contrived to show him for 
money, admitting the curious to mount a ladder and peep at 
him through a small window. A wine merchant at Hamburg, 
who was above seventy years of age, requested to speak with 
Lady Hamilton and told her he had some Rhenish wine of the 
vintage of 1625, which had been in his own possession more 
than half a century ; he had preserved it for some extra- 
ordinary occasion, and that which had now arrived was far 
beyond any that he could ever have expected. His request 



138 southey's life of nelson. 

was, that her ladyship would prevail upon Lord Nelson to 
accept six dozen of this incomparable wine ; part of it would 
then have the honor to flow into the heart's blood of that 
immortal hero, and this thought would make him happy dur- 
ing the remainder of his life. Nelson, when this singular 
request was reported to him, went into the room, and taking 
the worthy old gentleman kindly by the hand, consented to 
receive six bottles, provided the donor would dine with him 
next day. Twelve were sent, and Nelson, saying that he 
hoped yet to win half a dozen more great victories, promised 
to lay by six bottles of his Hamburg friend's wine for the pur- 
pose of drinking one after each. A German pastor, between 
seventy and eighty years of age, traveled forty miles, with the 
Bible of his parish church, to request that Nelson would write 
his name on the first leaf of it. He called him the saviour of 
the Christian world. The old man's hope deceived him. There 
was no Nelson upon shore, or Europe would have been saved ; 
but in his foresight of the horrors with which all Germany 
and all Christendom were threatened by France, the pastor 
could not possibly have apprehended more than has actually 
taken place. 



CHAPTER VII. 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 



NELSON was welcomed in England with every mark of 
popular honor. At Yarmouth, where he landed, every 
ship in the harbor hoisted her colors. The mayor and corpo- 
ration waited upon him with the freedom of the town, and 
accompanied him in procession to church, with all the naval 
officers on shore and the principal inhabitants. Bonfires and 
illuminations concluded the day ; and on the morrow the 
volunteer cavalry drew up and saluted him as he departed, and 
followed the carriage to the borders of the county. At Ipswich 
the people came out to meet him, drew him a mile into the 
town and three miles out. When he was in the Agamemiioji 
he wished to represent this place in Parliament, and some of 
his friends had consulted the leading men of the corporation ; 
the result was not successful, and Nelson, observing that he 
would endeavor to find out a preferable path into Parliament, 
said there might come a time when the people of Ipswich 
would think it an honor to have had him for their representa- 
tive. In London he was feasted by the City, drawn by the 
populace from Ludgate Hill to Guildhall, and received the 
thanks of the Common Council for his great victory, and a 
golden-hilted sword studded with diamonds. 

The Addington administration was just at this time formed, 
and Nelson, who had solicited employment, and been made 
Vice- Admiral of the Blue, was sent to the Baltic, as second in 
command under Sir Hyde Parker, by Earl St. Vincent, the 
new First Lord of the Admiralty. The three northern Courts 
had formed a confederacy for making England resign her naval 



140 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

rights. Of these Courts, Russia was guided by the passions 
of its emperor, Paul, a man not without fits of generosity and 
some natural goodness, but subject to the wildest humors of 
caprice, and crazed by the possession of greater power than 
can ever be safely or perhaps innocently possessed by weak 
humanity. Denmark was French at heart ; ready to cooperate 
in all the views of France, to recognize all her usurpations, 
and obey all her injunctions. Sweden, under a king whose 
principles were right and whose feelings were generous, but 
who had a taint of hereditary insanity, acted in acquiescence 
with the dictates of two Powers whom it feared to offend. 

The Danish navy at this time consisted of twenty-three ships 
of the line, with about thirty-one frigates and smaller vessels, 
exclusive of guardships. The Swedes had eighteen ships of 
the line, fourteen frigates and sloops, seventy-four galleys and 
smaller vessels, besides gunboats ; and this force was in a far 
better state of equipment than the Danish. The Russians had 
eighty-two sail of the line and forty frigates. Of these, there 
were forty-seven sail of the line at Cronstadt, Revel, Peters- 
burg, and Archangel ; but the Russian fleet was ill manned, 
ill officered, and ill equipped. Such a combination under the 
influence of France would soon have become formidable ; and 
never did the British Cabinet display more decision than in 
instantly preparing to crush it. They erred, however, in 
permitting any petty consideration to prevent them from 
appointing Nelson to the command. The public properly 
murmured at seeing it entrusted to another ; and he himself 
said to Earl St. Vincent, that, circumstanced as he was, this 
expedition would probably be the last service that he should 
ever perform. The earl, in reply, besought him not to suffer 
himself to be carried away by any sudden impulse. 

The season happened to be unusually favorable : so mild a 
winter had not been known in the Baltic for many years. 
When Nelson joined the fleet at Yarmouth he found the 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. I4I 

admiral " a little nervous about dark nights and fields of ice." 
"But we must brace up," said he; "these are not times for 
nervous systems. I hope we shall give our northern enemies 
that hailstorm of bullets which gives our dear country the 
dominion of the sea. We have it, and all the powers in the 
north cannot take it from us, if our wooden walls have fair 
play." Before the fleet left Yarmouth it was sufficiently 
known that its destination was against Denmark. Some 
Dane?, who belonged to the Amazo?i frigate, went to Captain 
Riou, and telling him what they had heard, begged that he 
would get them exchanged into a ship bound on some other 
destination. " They had no wish," they said, " to quit the 
British service ; but they entreated that they might not be 
forced to fight against their own country." There was not in 
our whole navy a man who had a higher and more chivalrous 
sense of duty than Riou. Tears came into his eyes while the 
men were speaking ; without making any reply, he instantly 
ordered his boat, and did not return to the Amazon until he 
could tell them that their wish was effected. 

The fleet sailed on the 12th of March. Mr. Vansittart 
sailed in it, the British Cabinet still hoping to obtain its end 
by negotiation. It was well for England that Sir Hyde Parker 
placed a fuller confidence in Nelson than the government 
seems to have done at this most important crisis. Her 
enemies might well have been astonished at learning that any 
other man should for a moment have been thought of for the 
command. But so little deference was paid, even at this time, 
to his intuitive and all-commanding genius, that when the fleet 
had reached its first rendezvous, at the entrance of the Catte- 
gat, he had received no official communication whatever of the 
intended operations. His own mind had been made up upon 
them with its accustomed decision. " All I have gathered of 
our first plans," said he, " I disapprove most exceedingly. 
Honor may arise from them ; good cannot, I hear we are 



142 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

likely to anchor outside of Cronenburg Castle, instead of 
Copenhagen, which would give weight to our negotiation. A 
Danish minister would think twice before he would put his 
name to war with England, when the next moment he would 
probably see his master's fleet in flames, and his capital in 
ruins. The Dane should see our flag every moment he lifted 
up his head." 

Mr. Vansittart left the fleet at the Scaw, and preceded it in 
a frigate with a flag of truce. Precious time was lost by this 
delay, which was to be purchased by the dearest blood of 
Britain and Denmark ; according to the Danes themselves, the 
intelligence that a British fleet was seen off the Sound produced 
a much more general alarm in Copenhagen than its actual 
arrival in the roads; for their means of defense were at that 
time in such a state that they could hardly hope to resist, still 
less to repel, an enemy. On the 21st Nelson had a long con- 
ference with Sir Hyde ; and the next day addressed a letter to 
him worthy of himself and of the occasion. Mr. Vansittart's 
report had then been received. It represented the Danish 
government as in the highest degree hostile, and their state 
of preparation as exceeding what our Cabinet had supposed 
possible ; for Denmark had profited, with all activity, of the 
leisure which had so impoliticly been given her. '' The more 
I have reflected," said Nelson to his commander, "the more I 
am confirmed in opinion that not a moment should be lost in 
attacking the enemy. They will every day and every hour be 
stronger ; we shall never be so good a match for them as at 
this moment. The only consideration is, how to get at them 
with the least risk to our ships. Here you are, with almost the 
safety — certainly with the honor — of England more entrusted 
to you than ever yet fell to the lot of any British officer. On 
your decision depends whether our country shall be degraded 
in the eyes of Europe, or whether she shall rear her head 
higher than ever. Again I do repeat, never did our country 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 43 

depend so much upon the success of any fleet as on this. 
How best to honor her and abate the pride of her enemies 
must be the subject of your deepest consideration." 

Supposing him to force the passage of the Sound, Nelson 
thought some damage might be done among the masts and 
yards, though perhaps not one of them but would be service- 
able again. " If the wind be fair," said he, " and you determine 
to attack the ships and Crown Islands, you must expect the 
natural issue of such a battle, — ships crippled, and perhaps 
one or two lost, for the wind which carries you in will most 
probably not bring out a crippled ship. This method I call 
taking the bull by the horns. It will, however, not prevent 
the Revel ships or the Swedes from joining the Danes ; and to 
prevent this is, in my humble opinion, a measure absolutely 
necessary, and still to attack Copenhagen." For this he 
proposed two modes. One was to pass Cronenburg, taking 
the risk of danger, take the deepest and straightest channel 
along the Middle Grounds, and then coming down the Garbar, 
or King's Channel, attack the Danish line of floating batteries 
and ships as might be found convenient. This would prevent 
a junction, and might give an opportunity of bombarding 
Copenhagen. Or to take the passage of the Belt, which might 
be accomplished in four or five days, and then the attack by 
Draco might be made and the junction of the Russians pre- 
vented. Supposing them through the Belt, he proposed that 
a detachment of the fleet should be sent to destroy the Russian 
squadron at Revel, and that the business at Copenhagen 
should be attempted with the remainder. " The measure," he 
said, ''might be thought bold; but the boldest measures are 
the safest." 

The pilots, as men who had nothing but safety to think of, 
were terrified by the formidable report of the batteries of 
Elsinore, and the tremendous preparations which our negotia- 
tors, who were now returned from their fruitless mission, 



144 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

witnessed. They therefore persuaded Sir Hyde to prefer the 
passage of the Belt. " Let it be by the Sound,^ by the Belt, or 
anyhow," cried Nelson ; " only lose not an hour ! " On the 
26th they sailed for the Belt; such was the habitual reserve of 
Sir Hyde that his own captain, the captain of the fleet, did not 
know which course he had resolved to take till the fleet were 
getting under way. When Captain Domett was thus apprised 
of it, he felt it his duty to represent to the admiral his belief 
that, if that course were persevered in, the ultimate object 
would be totally defeated. It was liable to long delays and to 
accidents of ships grounding. In the whole fleet there were 
only one captain and one pilot who knew anything of this 
formidable passage (as it was then deemed), and their knowl- 
edge was very slight. Their instructions did not authorize them 
to attempt it. Supposing them safe through the Belts, the 
heavy ships could not come over the Grounds to attack Copen- 
hagen, and light vessels would have no effect on such a line of 
defense as had been prepared against them. Domett urged 
these reasons so forcibly that Sir Hyde's opinion was shaken, 
and he consented to bring the fleet to and send for Nelson on 
board. There can be little doubt but that the expedition 
would have failed if Captain Domett had not thus timely and 
earnestly given his advice. Nelson entirely agreed with him, 
and it was finally determined to take the passage of the Sound, 
and the fleet returned to its former anchorage. 

The next day was more idly expended in dispatching a flag 
of truce to the governor of Cronenburg Castle, to ask whether 
he had received orders to fire at the British fleet, as the 
admiral must consider the first gun to be a declaration of war 
on the part of Denmark. A soldier-like and becoming answer 

^ Sound. — The strait between the Danish island of Zealand on the 
west and the coast of Sweden on the east. The Belt. — There were two 
" belts " or passages from the Cattegat to the Baltic, passing to the west of 
the island of Zealand. 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 45 

was returned to this formality. The governor said that the 
British minister had not been sent away from Copenhagen, but 
had obtained a passport at his own demand. He himself, as a 
soldier, could not meddle with politics, but he was not at 
liberty to suffer a fleet, of which the intention was not yet 
known, to approach the guns of the castle which he had the 
honor to command, and he requested, if the British admiral 
should think proper to make any proposals to the King of 
Denmark, that he might be apprised of it before the fleet 
approached nearer. During this intercourse a Dane, who 
came on board the commander's ship, having occasion to 
express his business in writing, found the pen blunt, and 
holding it up, sarcastically said, " If your guns are not better 
pointed than your pens, you will make little impression on 
Copenhagen." 

On that day intelligence reached the admiral of the loss of 
one of his fleet, the Invincible^ seventy-four, wrecked on a sand- 
bank as she was coming out of Yarmouth ; 400 of her men 
perished in her. Nelson, who was now appointed to lead the 
van, shifted his flag to the Elephant^ Captain Foley — a lighter 
ship than the St. Geo7'ge, and therefore fitter for the expected 
operations. The two following days were calm. Orders had 
been given to pass the Sound as soon as the wind would 
permit, and on the afternoon of the 29th the ships were cleared 
for action with an alacrity characteristic of British seamen. 
At daybreak on the 30th it blew a topsail breeze from N.W. 
The signal was made, and the fleet moved on in order of 
battle ; Nelson's division in the van. Sir Hyde's in the center, 
and Admiral Graves' in the rear. 

Great actions, whether military or naval, have generally 
given celebrity to the scenes from whence they are denomi- 
nated, and thus petty villages, and capes, and bays, known 
only to the coasting trader, become associated with mighty 
deeds, and their names are made conspicuous in the history of 



146 southey's life of nelson. 

the world. Here, however, the scene was every way worthy 
of the drama. The poUtical importance of the Sound is such 
that grand objects are not needed there to impress the imagina- 
tion, yet is the channel full of grand and interesting objects, 
both of art and nature. This passage, which Denmark had so 
long considered as the key of the Baltic, is in its narrowest 
part about three miles wide, and here the city of Elsinore is 
situated, except Copenhagen the most flourishing of the Danish 
towns. Every vessel which passes lowers her top-gallant sails 
and pays toll at Elsinore, a toll which is believed to have had 
its origin in the consent of the traders to that sea, Denmark 
taking upon itself the charge of constructing lighthouses and 
erecting signals to mark the shoals and rocks from the Catte- 
gat to the Baltic ; and they on their part agreeing that all 
ships should pass this way in order that all might pay their 
shares ; none from that time using the passage of the Belt, 
because it was not fitting that they who enjoyed the benefit of 
the beacons in dark and stormy weather should evade contribut- 
ing to them in fair seasons and summer nights. Of late years 
about ten thousand vessels had annually paid this contribution 
in time of peace. Adjoining Elsinore, and at the edge of the 
peninsular promontory, upon the nearest point of land to the 
Swedish coast, stands Cronenburg Castle, built after Tycho 
Brahe's ^ design, a magnificent pile — at once a palace and 
fortress and state prison, with its spires and towers, and 
battlements and batteries. On the left of the strait is the 
old Swedish city of Helsinburg, at the foot and on the side of 
a hill. 

To the north of Helsinburg the shores are steep and rocky ; 
they lower to the south, and the distant spires of Landscrona, 
Lund, and Malmoe are seen in the flat country. The Danish 
shores consist partly of ridges of sand, but more frequently 
their slopes are covered with rich wood, and villages and villas, 

1 Tycho Brahe (i 546-1601). — The celebrated Danish astronomer. 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 47 

denoting the vicinity of a great capital. The isles of Huen, 
Satholm, and Amak appear in the widening channel ; and at 
the distance of twenty miles from Elsinore stands Copenhagen, 
in full view, — the best city of the north, and one of the finest 
capitals of Europe, visible, with its stately spires, far off. 

Amid these magnificent objects there are some which possess 
a peculiar interest for the recollections which they call forth. 
The isle of Huen, a lovely domain, about six miles in circum- 
ference, had been the munificent gift of Frederic the Second to 
Tycho Brahe. Here most of his discoveries were made, and 
here the ruins are to be seen of his observatory, and of the 
mansion where he was visited by princes, and where, with a 
princely spirit, he received and entertained all comers from all 
parts, and promoted science by his liberality as well as by his 
labors. Elsinore ^ is a name familiar to English ears, being 
inseparably associated with Hamlet, and one of the noblest 
works of human genius. Cronenburg had been the scene of 
deeper tragedy; here Queen Matilda^ was confined, the victim 
of a foul and murderous court intrigue. Here, amid heart- 
breaking griefs, she found consolation in nursing her infant. 
Here she took her everlasting leave of that infant, when, by 
the interference of England, her own deliverance was obtained, 
and as the ship bore her away she fixed her eyes upon these 
towers, and stood upon the deck, obstinately gazing toward 
them till the last speck had disappeared. 

The Sound being the only frequented entrance to the Baltic, 
the great Mediterranean of the North, few parts of the sea 
display so frequent a navigation. In the height of the season 

1 " think of them that sleep 



Full many a fathom deep, 

By thy wild and stormy steep, 

Elsinore." 

Thomas Campbell. 

2 Queen Matilda. — Queen of Denmark, sister of George IIL She was 
imprisoned in Cronenburg Castle in 1784. 



148 southey's life of nelson. 

not fewer than a hundred vessels pass every four and twenty 
hours for many weeks in succession ; but never had so busy or 
so splendid a scene been exhibited there as on this day, when 
the British fleet prepared to force that passage where till now 
all ships had veiled their topsails to the flag of Denmark. 
The whole force consisted of fifty-one sail of various descrip- 
tions, of which sixteen were of the line. The greater part of 
the bomb and gun vessels took their stations off Cronenburg 
Castle to cover the fleet ; while others, on the larboard, were 
ready to engage the Swedish shore. The Danes, having im- 
proved every moment which ill-timed negotiation and baffling 
weather gave them, had lined their shore with batteries ; and 
as soon as the Moiiarch, which was the leading ship, came 
abreast of them, a fire was opened from about a hundred pieces 
of cannon and mortars; our light vessels immediately, in return, 
opened their fire upon the castle. 

Here were all the pompous circumstance and exciting reality 
of war without its effects, for this ostentatious display was but 
a bloodless prelude to the wide and sweeping destruction which 
was soon to follow. The enemy's shot fell near enough to splash 
the water on board our ships ; not relying upon any forbearance 
of the Swedes, they meant to have kept the mid-channel ; but 
when they perceived that not a shot was fired from Helsinburg, 
and that no batteries were to be seen on the Swedish shore, 
they inclined to that side, so as completely to get out of reach 
of the Danish guns. The uninterrupted blaze which was kept 
up from them till the fleet had passed served only to exhilarate 
our sailors, and afford them matter for jest, as the shot fell 
in showers a full cable's length short of its destined aim. 
A few rounds were returned from some of our leading ships 
till they perceived its inutility ; this, however, occasioned the 
only bloodshed of the day, some of our men being killed and 
wounded by the bursting of a gun. As soon as the main body 
had passed the gun-vessels followed, desisting from their bom- 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 49 

bardment, which had been as innocent as that of the enemy ; 
and about mid-day the whole fleet anchored between the island 
of Huen and Copenhagen. Sir Hyde, with Nelson, Admiral 
Graves, some of the senior captains, and the commanding 
officers of the artillery and the troops, then proceeded in a 
lugger to reconnoitre the enemy's means of defense, — a for- 
midable line of ships, radeaus, pontoons, galleys, fire-ships, and 
gun-boats, flanked and supported by extensive batteries, and 
occupying, from one extreme point to the other, an extent of 
nearly four miles. 

A council of war was held in the afternoon. It was apparent 
that the Danes could not be attacked without great difficulty 
and risk ; and some of the members of the council spoke of 
the number of the Swedes and the Russians whom they should 
afterwards have to engage as a consideration which ought to be 
borne in mind. Nelson, who kept pacing the cabin, impatient 
as he ever was of anything which savored of irresolution, 
repeatedly said, "The more numerous the better; I wish they 
were twice as many — the easier the victory, depend on it." 
The plan upon which he had determined, if ever it should be 
his fortune to bring a Baltic fleet to action, was to attack the 
head of their line, and confuse their movements. " Close with 
a Frenchman," he used to say, " but out-manoeuvre a Russian." 
He offered his services for the attack, requiring ten sail of the 
line and the whole of the smaller craft. Sir Hyde gave him 
two more line-of-battle ships than he asked, and left everything 
to his judgment. 

The enemy's force was not the only nor the greatest obstacle 
with which the British fleet had to contend ; there was another 
to be overcome before they could come in contact with it. The 
channel was little known and extremely intricate ; all the buoys 
had been removed, and the Danes considered this difficulty as 
almost insuperable, thinking the channel impracticable for so 
large a fleet. Nelson himself saw the soundings made and the 



150 southey's life of nelson. 

buoys laid down, boating it upon this exhausting service, day 
and night, till it was effected. When this was done he thanked 
God for having enabled him to get through this difficult part of 
his duty. " It had worn him down," he said, " and was infi- 
nitely more grievous to him than any resistance which he could 
experience from the enemy." 

At the first council of war, opinions inclined to an attack from 
the eastward ; but the next day, the wind being southerly, after 
a second examination of the Danish position, it was determined 
to attack from the south, approaching in the manner which 
Nelson suggested in his first thoughts. On the morning of the 
first of April the whole fleet removed to an anchorage within 
two leagues of the town, and off the N.W. end of the Middle 
Ground ; a shoal lying exactly before the town, at about three- 
quarters of a mile distance, and extending along its whole sea 
front. The King's Channel, where there is deep water, is 
between this shoal and the town, and here the Danes had 
arranged their line of defense as near the shore as possible : 
nineteen ships and floating batteries, flanked, at the end 
nearest the town, by the Crown Batteries, which were two 
artificial islands at the mouth of the harbor, — most formidable 
works, the larger one having, by the Danish account, sixty-six 
guns, but as Nelson believed, eighty-eight. 

The fleet having anchored. Nelson, with Riou in the Amazon^ 
made his last examination of the ground, and about one 
o'clock, returning to his own ship, threw out the signal to 
weigh. It was received with a shout throughout the whole 
division ; they weighed with a light and favorable wind; the 
narrow channel between the island of Saltholm and the Middle 
Ground had been accurately buoyed ; the small craft pointed 
out the course distinctly ; Riou led the way ; the whole division 
coasted along the outer edge of the shoal, doubled its further 
extremity, and anchored there off Draco Point, just as the 
darkness closed, the headmost of the enemy's line not being 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. I5I 

more than two miles distant. The signal to prepare for action 
had been made early in the evening, and as his own anchor 
dropped, Nelson called out: "I will fight them the moment I 
have a fair wind." It had been agreed that Sir Hyde, with the 
remaining ships, should weigh on the following morning at the 
same time as Nelson, to menace the Crown Batteries on his 
side and the four ships of the line which lay at the entrance of 
the arsenal, and to cover our own disabled ships as they came 
out of action. 

The Danes meantime had not been idle : no sooner did the 
guns of Cronenburg make it known to the whole city that all 
negotiation was at an end, that the British fleet was passing the 
Sound, and that the dispute between the two crowns must 
now be decided by arms, than a spirit displayed itself most 
honorable to the Danish character. All ranks offered them- 
selves to the service of their country ; the university furnished 
a corps of twelve hundred youths, the flower of Denmark : it 
was one of those emergencies in which little drilling or disci- 
pline is necessary to render courage available; they had nothing 
to learn but how to manage the guns, and were employed day 
and night in practicing them. When the movements of Nelson's 
squadron were perceived, it was known when and where the 
attack was to be expected, and the line of defense was manned 
indiscriminately by soldiers, sailors, and citizens. Had not the 
whole attention of the Danes been directed to strengthen their 
own means of defense, they might most materially have 
annoyed the invading squadron, and perhaps frustrated the 
impending attack, for the British ships were crowded in an 
anchoring-ground of little extent ; it was calm, so that mortar- 
boats might have acted against them to the utmost advantage, 
and they were within range of shells from Amak Island.^ A 
few fell among them, but the enemy soon ceased to fire. It was 
learned afterwards that, fortunately for the fleet, the bed of the 

^ Amak Island. — Copenhagen is built partly on this island. 



152 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

mortar had given way, and the Danes either could not get it 
replaced, or in the darkness lost the direction. 

This was an awful night for Copenhagen — far more so than 
for the British fleet, where the men were accustomed to battle 
and victory, and had none of those objects before their eyes 
which render death terrible. Nelson sat down to table with a 
large party of his officers ; he was, as he was ever wont to be 
when on the eve of action, in high spirits, and drank to a 
leading wind and to the success of the morrow. After supper 
they returned to their respective ships, except Riou, who 
remained to arrange the order of battle with Nelson and Foley, 
and to draw up instructions ; Hardy meantime went in a small 
boat to examine the channel between them and the enemy, 
approaching so near that he sounded round their leading ship 
with a pole, lest the noise of throwing the lead should discover 
him. 

The incessant fatigue of body as well as mind which Nelson 
had undergone during the last three days had so exhausted 
him that he was earnestly urged to go to his cot, and his old 
servant, Allen, using that kind of authority which long and 
affectionate services entitled and enabled him to assume on 
such occasions, insisted upon his complying. The cot was 
placed on the floor, and he continued to dictate from it. 
About eleven, Hardy returned, and reported the practicability 
of the channel, and the depth of water up to the enemy's line. 
About one the orders were completed, and half a dozen clerks 
in the foremost cabin proceeded to transcribe them. Nelson 
frequently calling out to them from his cot to hasten their 
work, for the wind was becoming fair. Instead of attempting 
to get a few hours of sleep, he was constantly receiving reports 
on this important point. At daybreak it was announced as 
becoming perfectly fair. The clerks finished their work about 
six. Nelson, who was already up, breakfasted, and made 
signal for all captains. The land forces and five hundred sea- 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 153 

men, under Captain Freemantle and the Honorable Colonel 
Stewart, were to storm the Crown Battery as soon as its fire 
should be silenced ; and Riou — whom Nelson had never seen 
till this expedition, but whose worth he had instantly perceived, 
and appreciated as it deserved — had the Blajiche and Alcmene 
frigates, the Dart and Arrow sloops, and the Zephyr and Otter 
fire-ships, given him, with a special command to act as cir- 
cumstances might require : every other ship had its station 
appointed. 

Between eight and nine the pilots and masters were ordered 
on board the admiral's ship. The pilots were mostly men who 
had been mates in Baltic traders, and their hesitation about 
the bearing of the east end of the shoal and the exact line of 
deep water gave ominous warning of how little their knowl- 
edge was to be trusted. The signal for action had been made, 
the wind was fair — not a moment to be lost. Nelson urged 
them to be steady, to be resolute, and to decide ; but they 
wanted the only ground for steadiness and decision in such 
cases, and Nelson had reason to regret that he had not trusted 
to Hardy's single report. This was one of the most painful 
moments of his life, and he always spoke of it with bitterness. 
" I experienced in the Sound," said he, " the misery of having 
the honor of our country intrusted to a set of pilots who have 
no other thought than to keep the ships clear of danger, and 
their own silly heads clear of shot. Everybody knows what I 
must have suffered, and if any merit attaches itself to me, it 
was for combating the dangers of the shallows in defiance of 
them." At length Mr. Bryerly, the master of the Bellona, 
declared that he was prepared to lead the fleet ; his judgment 
was acceded to by the rest ; they returned to their ships, and 
at half-past nine the signal was made to weigh in succession. 

At five minutes after ten the action began. The first half of 
our fleet was engaged in about half an hour, and by half -past 
eleven the battle became general. The plan of the attack had 



I 54 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

been complete ; but seldom has any plan been more discon- 
certed by untoward accidents. Of twelve ships of the line, one 
was entirely useless, and two others in a situation where they 
could not render half the service which was required of them. 
Of the squadron of gun-brigs only one could get into action : 
the rest were prevented by baffling currents from weathering 
the eastern end of the shoal ; and only two of the bomb-vessels 
could reach their station on the Middle Ground, and open 
their mortars on the arsenal, firing over both fleets. Riou took 
the vacant station against the Crown Battery with his frigates, 
attempting with that unequal force a service in which three sail 
of the line had been directed to assist. 

Nelson's agitation had been extreme when he saw himself, 
before the action began, deprived of a fourth part of his ships 
of the line ; but no sooner was he in battle, where his squadron 
was received with the fire of more than a thousand guns, than, 
as if that artillery, like music, had driven away all care and 
painful thoughts, his countenance brightened, and, as a 
bystander describes him, his conversation became joyous, 
animated, elevated, and delightful. 

The commander-in-chief meantime, near enough to the scene 
of action to know the unfavorable accidents which had so 
materially weakened Nelson, and yet too distant to know the 
real state of the contending parties, suffered the most dreadful 
anxiety. To get to his assistance was impossible; both wind 
and current were against him. Fear for the event in such 
circumstances would naturally preponderate in the bravest 
mind ; and at one o'clock, perceiving that after three hours' 
endurance the enemy's fire was unslackened, he began to 
despair of success. " I will make the signal of recall," said he 
to his captain, " for Nelson's sake. If he is in a condition to 
continue the action successfully, he will disregard it ; if he is 
not, it will be an excuse for his retreat, and no blame can be 
imputed to him." Captain Domett urged him at least to delay 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 55 

the signal till he could communicate with Nelson, but in Sir 
Hyde's opinion the danger was too pressing for delay. " The 
fire," he said, " was too hot for Nelson to oppose ; a retreat he 
thought must be made. He was aware of the consequences to 
his own personal reputation, but it would be cowardly in him 
to leave Nelson to bear the whole shame of the failure, if shame 
it should be deemed." Under a mistaken judgment, therefore, 
but with this disinterested and generous feeling, he made the 
signal for retreat. 

Nelson was at this time in all the excitement of action, 
pacing the quarter-deck. A shot through the mainmast 
knocked the splinters about, and he observed to one of his 
officers with a smile, " It is warm work ; and this day may be 
the last to any of us at a moment"; and then stopping short 
at the gangway, added with emotion, " but, mark you, I would 
not be elsewhere for thousands." About this time the signal 
lieutenant called out that No. 39 (the signal for discontinuing 
the action) was thrown out by the commander-in-chief. He 
continued to walk the deck, and appeared to take no notice of 
it. The signal officer met him at the next turn, and asked him 
if he should repeat it. "No," he replied, "acknowledge it." 
Presently he called after him to know if the signal for close 
action was still hoisted, and being answered in the affirmative, 
said, " Mind you keep it so." He now paced the deck, moving 
the stump of his lost arm in a manner which always indicated 
great emotion. " Do you know," said he to Mr. Ferguson, 
" what is shown on board the commander-in-chief ? No. 39 ! " 
Mr. Ferguson asked what that meant. " Why, to leave off 
action ! " Then, shrugging up his shoulders, he repeated the 
words, " Leave off action ? Now, hang me if I do ! You know, 
Foley," turning to the captain, "I have only one eye; I have a 
right to be blind sometimes." And then, putting the glass to 
his blind eye in that mood of mind that sports with bitterness, 
he exclaimed, " I really do not see the signal ! " Presently he 



156 southey's life of nelson. 

exclaimed, " Hang the signal ! Keep mine for closer battle 
flying ! That 's the way I answer such signals ! Nail mine to 
the mast ! " 

Admiral Graves, who was so situated that he could not dis- 
cern what was done on board the Elephant^ disobeyed Sir 
Hyde's signal in like manner; whether by fortunate mistake or 
by a like brave intention has not been made known. The other 
ships of the line, looking only to Nelson, continued the action. 
The signal, however, saved Riou's little squadron, but did not 
save its heroic leader. This squadron, which was nearest the 
commander-in-chief, obeyed, and hauled off. It had suffered 
severely in its most unequal contest. For a long time the 
Amazon had been firing, enveloped in smoke, when Riou 
desired his men to stand fast, and let the smoke clear off, that 
they might see what they were about. A fatal order, for the 
Danes then got clear sight of her from the batteries, and 
pointed their guns with such tremendous effect that nothing 
but the signal for retreat saved this frigate from destruction. 
" What will Nelson think of us t " was Riou's mournful excla- 
mation when he unwillingly drew off. He had been wounded 
in the head by a splinter, and was sitting on a gun, encouraging 
his men, when, just as the Amazon showed her stern to the 
Trekroner Battery, his clerk was killed by his side, and 
another shot swept away several marines who were hauling 
in the mainbrace. " Come, then, my boys," cried Riou, *' let us 
all die together ! " The words had scarcely been uttered before 
a raking shot cut him in two. Except it had been Nelson him- 
self, the British navy could not have suffered a severer loss. 

The action continued along the line with unabated vigor on 
our side, and with the most determined resolution on the part 
of the Danes. They fought to great advantage, because most 
of the vessels in their line of defense were without masts ; the 
few which had any standing had their topmasts struck, and the 
hulls could only be seen at intervals. 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 57 

The Prince Royal had taken his station upon one of the 
batteries, from whence he beheld the action and issued his 
orders. Denmark had never been engaged in so arduous a 
contest, and never did the Danes more nobly display their 
national courage, — a courage not more unhappily than impoli- 
ticly exerted in subserviency to the interest of France. Captain 
Thura, of the Indfoedsretten, fell early in the action, and all 
his officers, except one lieutenant and one marine officer, were 
either killed or wounded. In the confusion the colors were 
either struck or shot away ; but she was moored athwart one 
of the batteries in such a situation that the British made no 
attempt to board her, and a boat was dispatched to the prince 
to inform him of her situation. He turned to those about him, 
and said, " Gentlemen, Thura is killed ; which of you will take 
the command ? " Schroedersee, a captain who had lately 
resigned on account of extreme ill health, answered in a feeble 
voice, " I will ! " and hastened on board. The crew, perceiving 
a new commander coming alongside, hoisted their colors again, 
and fired a broadside. Schroedersee, when he came on deck, 
found himself surrounded by the dead and wounded, and called 
to those. in the boat to get quickly on board ; a ball struck him 
at that moment. A lieutenant who had accompanied him then 
took the command, and continued to fight the ship. A youth 
of seventeen, by name Villemoes, particularly distinguished 
himself on this memorable day. He had volunteered to take 
the command of a floating battery, which was a raft, consisting 
merely of a number of beams nailed together, with a flooring 
to support the guns ; it was square, with a breastwork full of 
port-holes, and without masts — carrying twenty-four guns and 
1 20 men. With this he got under the stern of the Elephant, 
below the reach of the stern-chasers ; and under a heavy fire of 
small arms from the marines, fought his raft, till the truce was 
announced, with such skill as well as courage as to excite 
Nelson's warmest admiration. 



158 southey's life of nelson. 

Between one and two the fire of the Danes slackened ; about 
two it ceased from the greater part of their hne, and some of 
their lighter ships were adrift. It was, however, difficult to 
take possession of those which struck, because the batteries on 
Amak Island protected them, and because an irregular fire was 
kept up from the ships themselves as the boats approached. 
This arose from the nature of the action. The crews were 
continually reinforced from the shore, and fresh men coming 
on board did not inquire whether the flag had been struck, or 
perhaps did not heed it ; many or most of them never having 
been engaged in war before, knowing nothing therefore of its 
laws, and thinking only of defending their country to the last 
extremity. The Dannebrog fired upon the Elephanf s boats in 
this manner, though her commodore had removed her pendant 
and deserted her, though she had struck, and though she was 
in flames. After she had been abandoned by the commodore, 
Braun fought her till he lost his right hand, and then Captain 
Lemming took the command. This unexpected renewal of her 
fire made the Elephant and Glatto7i renew theirs, till she was 
not only silenced, but nearly every man in the praams ahead 
and astern of her was killed. When the smoke of their guns 
died away she was seen drifting in flames before the wind, 
those of her crew who remained alive and able to exert them- 
selves throwing themselves out at her port-holes. 

By half-past two the action had ceased along that part of the 
line which was astern of the Elephant, but not with the ships 
ahead and the Crown Batteries. Nelson, seeing the manner 
in which his boats were fired upon when they went to take 
possession of the prizes, became angry, and said he must either 
send on shore to have this irregular proceeding stopped, or 
send a fire-ship and burn them. Half the shot from the 
Trekroner and from the batteries at Amak at this time struck 
the surrendered ships, four of which had got close together, 
and the fire of the English in return was equally or even more 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 59 

destructive to these poor devoted Danes. ' Nelson, who was as 
humane as he was brave, was shocked at this massacre — for 
such he called it — and, with a presence of mind peculiar to 
himself, and never more signally displayed than now, he retired 
into the stern galley, and wrote thus to the Crown Prince : 
" Vice-admiral Lord Nelson has been commanded to spare 
Denmark when she no longer resists. The line of defense 
which covered her shores has struck to the British flag ; but if 
the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he must set on 
fire all the prizes that he has taken, without having the power 
of saving the men who have so nobly defended them. The 
brave Danes are the brothers and should never be the enemies 
of the English." A wafer was given him, but he ordered a 
candle to be brought from the cockpit, and sealed the letter 
with wax, afiixing a larger seal than he ordinarily used. 
" This," said he, " is no time to appear hurried and informal." 
Captain Sir Frederick Thesiger, who acted as his aide-de-camp, 
carried this letter with a flag of truce. Meantime the fire of 
ships ahead, and the appoach of the Ramilies and Defe?ice from 
Sir Hyde's division, which had now worked near enough to 
alarm the enemy, though not to injure them, silenced the 
remainder of the Danish line to the eastward of the Trekroner. 
That battery, however, continued its fire. This formidable 
work, owing to the want of the ships which had been destined 
to attack it, and the inadequate force of Riou's little squadron, 
was comparatively uninjured. Towards the close of the action 
it had been manned with nearly fifteen hundred men, and the 
intention of storming it, for which every preparation had been 
made, was abandoned, as impracticable. 

During Thesiger's absence Nelson sent for Freemantle from 
the Ganges^ and consulted with him and Foley, whether it was 
advisable to advance with those ships which had sustained least 
damage against the yet uninjured part of the Danish line. 
They were decidedly of opinion that the best thing which 



i6o southey's life of nelson. 

could be done was, while the wind continued fair, to remove 
the fleet out of the intricate channel from which it had to 
retreat. In somewhat more than half an hour after Thesiger 
had been dispatched, the Danish adjutant-general, Lindholm, 
came bearing a flag of truce ; upon which the Trekroner ceased 
to fire, and the action closed, after four hours' continuance. 
He brought an inquiry from the prince : What was the object 
of Nelson's note ? The British admiral wrote in reply : " Lord 
Nelson's object in sending the flag of truce was humanity ; he 
therefore consents that hostilities shall cease, and that the 
wounded Danes may be taken on shore. And Lord Nelson 
will take his prisoners out of the vessels, and burn or carry off 
his prizes as he shall think fit. Lord Nelson, with humble 
duty to his Royal Highness the Prince, will consider this the 
greatest victory he has ever gained if it may be the cause of 
a happy reconciliation and union between his own most gracious 
sovereign and his Majesty the King of Denmark." Sir Fred- 
erick Thesiger was dispatched a second time with the reply ; 
and the Danish adjutant-general was referred to the commander- 
in-chief for a conference upon this overture. Lindholm assent- 
ing to this, proceeded to the London^ which was riding at 
anchor full four miles off ; and Nelson, losing not one of the 
critical moments which he had thus gained, made signal for his 
leading ships to weigh in succession — they had the shoal to 
clear, 'they were much crippled, and their course was immedi- 
ately under the guns of the Trekroner. 

The Monarch led the way. This ship had received six and 
twenty shot between wind and water. She had not a shroud 
standing ; there was a double-headed -shot in the heart of her 
foremast ; and the slightest wind would have sent every mast 
over her side.^ The imminent danger from which Nelson had 

1 It would have been well if the fleet, before they went under the batter- 
ies, had left their spare spars moored out of reach of shot. Many would 
have been saved which were destroyed lying on the booms, and the hurt 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. l6l 

extricated himself soon became apparent ; the Monarch touched 
immediately upon a shoal, over which she was pushed by the 
Ganges taking her amidships ; the Glatton went clear ; but the 
other two, the Defiance and the Elephant^ grounded about a mile 
from the Trekroner, and there remained fixed for many hours, 
in spite of all the exertions of their wearied crews. The Desir'ee 
frigate also, at the other end of the line, having gone towards 
the close of the action to assist the Bellona, became fast on the 
same shoal. Nelson left the Elephant, soon after she took the 
ground, to follow Lindholm. The heat of action was over, and 
that kind of feeling which the surrounding scene of havoc was 
so well fitted to produce pressed heavily upon his exhausted 
spirits. The sky had suddenly become overcast ; white flags 
were waving from the mastheads of so many shattered ships ; 
the slaughter had ceased ; but the grief was to come, for the 
account of the dead was not yet made up, and no man could 
tell for what friends he would have to mourn. The very silence 
which follows the cessation of such a battle becomes a weight 
upon the heart at first, rather than a relief ; and though the 
work of mutual destruction was at an end, the Danbrog was at 
this time drifting about in flames ; presently she blew up, while 
our boats, which had put off in all directions to assist her, were 
endeavoring to pick up her devoted crew, few of whom could 
be saved. 

The fate of these men, after the gallantry which they had 
displayed, particularly affected Nelson ; for there was nothing 
in this action of that indignation against the enemy, and that 
impression of retributive justice, which at the Nile had given 
a sterner temper to his mind, and a sense of austere delight 
in beholding the vengeance of which he was the appointed 

done by their splinters would have been saved also. Small craft could 
have towed them up when they were required, and after such an action so 
many must necessarily be wanted, that if those which were not in use were 
wounded, it might thus have been rendered impossible to refit the ships. 



1 62 southey's life of nelson. 

minister. The Danes were an honorable foe ; they were of 
English mould as well as English blood; and now that the 
battle had ceased, he regarded them rather as brethren than 
as enemies. There was another reflection also, which mingled 
with these melancholy thoughts, and predisposed him to receive 
them. He was not here master of his own movements, as at 
Egypt : he had won the day by disobeying his orders ; and in 
so far as he had been successful, had convicted the commander- 
in-chief of an error in judgment. "Well," said he as he left 
the Elephant^ " I have fought contrary to orders, and I shall 
perhaps be hanged ! Never mind, let them ! " 

This was the language of a man who, while he is giving 
utterance to an uneasy thought, clothes it half in jest because 
he half repents that it has been disclosed. His services had 
been too eminent on that day, his judgment too conspicuous, 
his success too signal, for any commander, however jealous of 
his own authority, or envious of another's merits, to express 
anything but satisfaction and gratitude, which Sir Hyde heartily 
felt and sincerely expressed. It was speedily agreed that there 
should be a suspension of hostilities for four and twenty hours ; 
that all the prizes should be surrendered and the wounded 
Danes carried on shore. There was a pressing necessity for 
this, for the Danes — either from too much confidence in the 
strength of their position and the difficulty of the channel, or 
supposing that the wounded might be carried on shore during 
the action, which was found totally impracticable, or perhaps 
from the confusion which the attack excited — had provided no 
surgeons ; so that when our men boarded the captured ships 
they found many of the mangled and mutilated Danes bleeding 
to death for want of proper assistance, — a scene of all others 
the most shocking to a brave man's feelings. 

This was indeed a mournful day for Copenhagen. It was 
Good Friday ; but the general agitation and the mourning 
which was in every house made all distinction of days be 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 63 

forgotten. There were at that hour thousands in that city 
who felt, and more perhaps who needed, the consolations of 
Christianity, but few or none who could be calm enough to 
think of its observances. The English were actively employed 
in refitting their own ships, securing the prizes, and distribut- 
ing the prisoners; the Danes, in carrying on shore and dispos- 
ing of the wounded and the dead. It had been a murderous 
action. Our loss in killed and wounded was nine hundred and 
fifty- three. Part of this slaughter might have been spared. 
The commanding officer of the troops on board one of our 
ships asked where his men should be stationed. He was told 
that they could be of no use ; that they were not near enough 
for musketry, and were not wanted at the guns ; they had 
therefore better go below. This, he said was impossible, — it 
would be a disgrace that could never be wiped away. They 
were therefore drawn up upon the gangway, to satisfy this 
cruel point of honor ; and there, without the possibility of annoy- 
ing the enemy, they were mowed down ! The loss of the Danes, 
including prisoners, amounted to about six thousand. 

The negotiations meantime went on, and it was agreed that 
Nelson should have an interview with the prince the following 
day. Hardy and Freemantle landed with him. This was a 
thing as unexampled as the other circumstances of the battle. 
A strong guard was appointed to escort him to the palace, as 
much for the purpose of security as of honor. The populace, 
according to the British account, showed a mixture of admira- 
tion, curiosity, and displeasure at beholding that man in the 
midst of them who had inflicted such wounds upon Denmark. 
But there were neither acclamations nor murmurs. " The 
people," says a Dane, " did not degrade themselves with the 
former, nor disgrace themselves with the latter: the admiral was 
received as one brave enemy ever ought to receive another. He 
was received with respect." The preliminaries of the negotia- 
tion were adjusted at this interview. During the repast which 



164 southey's life of nelson. 

followed, Nelson, with all the sincerity of his character, bore 
willing testimony to the valor of his foes. He told the prince 
that he had been in a hundred and five engagements, but that 
this was the most tremendous of all. " The French," he said, 
" fought bravely ; but they could not have stood for one hour 
the fight which the Danes supported for four." He requested 
that Villemoes might be introduced to him; and shaking hands 
with the youth, told the prince that he ought to be made an 
admiral. The prince replied : " If, my lord, I am to make all 
my brave officers admirals, I should have no captains or lieu- 
tenants in my service." 

The sympathy of the Danes for their countrymen who had 
bled in their defense was not weakened by distance of time or 
place in this instance. Things needful for the service or the 
comfort of the wounded were sent in profusion to the hospitals, 
till the superintendents gave public notice that they could re- 
ceive no more. On the third day after the action the dead 
were buried in the naval churchyard; the ceremony was made 
as public and as solemn as the occasion required, — such a 
procession had never before been seen in that or perhaps in 
any other city. A public monument was erected upon the 
spot where the slain were gathered together. A subscription 
was opened on the day of the funeral for the relief of the 
sufferers, and collections in aid of it made throughout all the 
churches in the kingdom. This appeal to the feelings of the 
people was made with circumstances which gave it full effect. 
A monument was raised in the midst of the church, surmounted 
by the Danish colors : young maidens, dressed in white, stood 
round it, with either one who had been wounded in the battle, 
or the widow and orphans of some one who had fallen; a 
suitable oration was delivered from the pulpit, and patriotic 
hymns and songs were afterwards performed. Medals were 
distributed to all the officers and to the men who had distin- 
guished themselves. Poets and painters vied with each other 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. l6$ 

in celebrating a battle which, disastrous as it was, had yet 
been honorable to their country ; some, with pardonable soph- 
istry, represented the advantage of the day as on their own 
side. One writer discovered a more curious but less disputa- 
ble ground of satisfaction in the reflection that Nelson, as may 
be inferred from his name, was of Danish descent, and his 
actions, therefore, the Dane argued, were attributable to Danish 
valor. 

The negotiation was continued during the five following days, 
and in that interval the prizes were disposed of in a manner 
which was little approved by Nelson. Six line-of-battle ships 
and eight praams had been taken. Of these, the I/o/sfem, 
sixty-four, was the only one which was sent home. 

The Zealand was a finer ship, but the Zealand and all the 
others were burned, and their brass battering cannon sunk with 
the hulls in such shoal water that when the fleet returned from 
Revel they found the Danes with craft over the wrecks em- 
ployed in getting the guns up again. Nelson, though he for- 
bore from any public expression of displeasure at seeing the 
proofs and trophies of his victory destroyed, did not forget to 
represent to the Admiralty the case of those who were thus 
deprived of their prize-money. 

" Whether," said he to Earl St. Vincent, " Sir Hyde Parker 
may mention the subject to you, I know not, for he is rich 
and does not want it ; nor is it, you will believe me, any desire 
to get a few hundred pounds that actuates me to address this 
letter to you, but justice to the brave officers and men who 
fought on that day. It is true our opponents were in hulks 
and floats, only adapted for the position they were in ; but 
that made our battle so much the harder, and victory so much 
the more diflicult to obtain. Believe me, I have weighed all 
the circumstances, and in my conscience I think that the King 
should send a gracious message to the House of Commons for 
a gift to this fleet ; for what must b^ the natural feelings of 



1 66 southey's life of nelson. 

the officers and men belonging to it, to see their rich com- 
mander-in-chief burn all the fruits of their victory, which, if 
fitted up and sent to England (as many of them might have 
been by dismantling part of our fleet), would have sold for a 
good round sum ? " 

On the 9th Nelson landed again, to conclude the terms of 
the armistice. During its continuance the armed ships and 
vessels of Denmark were to remain in their then actual situa- 
tion as to armament, equipment, and hostile position; and the 
treaty of armed neutrality, as far as related to the cooperation 
of Denmark, was suspended. The prisoners were to be sent 
on shore ; an acknowledgment being given for them, and for 
the wounded also, that they might be carried to Great Britain's 
credit in the account of war, in case hostilities should be re- 
newed. The British fleet was allowed to provide itself with 
all things requisite for the health and comfort of its men. 
A difficulty arose respecting the duration of the armistice. The 
Danish commissioners fairly stated their fears of Russia ; and 
Nelson, with that frankness which sound policy and the sense 
of power seem often to require as well as justify in diplomacy, 
told them his reason for demanding a long term was, that he 
might have time to act against the Russian fleet, and then 
return to Copenhagen. Neither party would yield upon this 
point -; and one of the Danes hinted at the renewal of hostili- 
ties. " Renew hostilities ! " cried Nelson to one of his friends, 
for he understood French enough to comprehend what was 
said, though not to answer it in the same language. "Tell 
him we are ready at a moment ! ready to bombard this very 
night ! " 

The conference, however, proceeded amicably on both sides; 
and as the commissioners could not agree upon this head, they 
broke up, leaving Nelson to settle it with the prince. A levee 
was held forthwith in one of the staterooms ; a scene well 
suited for such a consultation, for all these rooms had been 



BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. 1 6/ 

stripped of their furniture, in fear of a bombardment. To a 
bombardment also Nelson was looking at this time. Fatigue 
and anxiety, and vexation at the dilatory measures of the 
commander-in-chief, combined to make him irritable ; and as 
he was on the way to the prince's dining-room he whispered to 
the officer on whose arm he was leaning, " Though I have only 
one eye, I can see that all this will burn well." After dinner 
he was closeted with the prince, and they agreed that the 
armistice should continue fourteen weeks, and that at its ter- 
mination fourteen days' notice should be given before the 
recommencement of hostilities. 

For the battle of Copenhagen^ Nelson was raised to the rank 
of viscount, an inadequate mark of reward for services so 
splendid and of such paramount importance to the dearest 
interests of England. There was, however, some prudence in 
dealing out honors to him step by step ; had he lived long 
enough he would have fought his way up to a dukedom. 

1 Southey's animated description of this battle no doubt inspired 
Campbell's noble lines, 

" Of Nelson and the North 
Sing the glorious day's renown." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

WHEN Nelson informed Earl St. Vincent that the armis- 
tice had been concluded, he told him also without 
reserve his own discontent at the dilatoriness and indecision 
which he witnessed and could not remedy. " No man," said 
he, " but those who are on the spot can tell what I have gone 
through and do suffer. I make no scruple in saying that I 
would have been at Revel fourteen days ago; that without this 
armistice the fleet would never have gone but by order of the 
Admiralty, and with it I dare say we shall not go this week. I 
wanted Sir Hyde to let me at least go and cruise off Carls- 
crona, to prevent the Revel ships from getting in. I said I 
would not go to Revel to take any of those laurels which I was 
sure he would reap there. Think for me, my dear lord, and if 
I have deserved well let me return ; if ill, for Heaven's sake 
supersede me, for I cannot exist in this state." 

Fatigue, incessant anxiety, and a climate little suited to one 
of a tender constitution, which had now for many years been 
accustomed to more genial latitudes, made him at this time 
seriously determine upon returning home. " If the northern 
business were not settled," he said, " they must send more 
admirals, for the keen air of the north had cut him to the 
heart." He felt the want of activity and decision in the com- 
mander-in-chief more keenly, and this affected his spirits, and 
consequently his health, more than the inclemency of the 
Baltic. 

Soon after the armistice was signed Sir Hyde proceeded to 
the eastward with such ships as were fit for service, leaving 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 69 

Nelson to follow with the rest as soon as those which had 
received slight damages should be repaired and the rest sent to 
England. In passing between the isles of Amak and Saltholm 
most of the ships touched the ground, and some of them stuck 
fast for awhile ; no serious injury, however, was sustained. 
It was intended to act against the Russians first before the 
breaking up of the frost should enable them to leave Revel ; 
but learning on the way that the Swedes had put to sea to 
effect a junction with them. Sir Hyde altered his course in 
hopes of intercepting this part of the enemy's force. 

Nelson had at this time provided for the more pressing 
emergencies of the service, and prepared on the i8th to follow 
the fleet. The Sf. George drew too much water to pass the 
channel between the isles without being lightened ; the guns 
were therefore taken out and put on board an American vessel. 
A contrary wind, however, prevented Nelson from moving, 
and on that same evening, while he was thus delayed, informa- 
tion reached him of the relative situation of the Swedish and 
British fleets, and the probability of an action. The fleet was 
nearly ten leagues distant, and both wind and current con- 
trary, but it was not possible that Nelson could wait for a 
favorable season under such an expectation. He ordered his 
boat immediately, and stepped into it. Night was setting in — 
one of the cold spring nights of the north, — and it was dis- 
covered, soon after they had left the ship, that in their haste 
they had forgotten to provide him with a boat-cloak. He, 
however forbade them to return for one ; and when one of his 
companions offered his own greatcoat, and urged him to make 
use of it, he replied: " I thank you very much; but, to tell you 
the truth, my anxiety keeps me sufficiently warm at present." 

"Do you think," said he presently, *'that our fleet has 
quitted Bornholm ? If it has, we must follow it to Carlscrona." 
About midnight he reached it, and once more got on board the 
Elephant. On the following morning the Swedes were dis- 



I/O SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

covered ; as soon, however, as they perceived the English ap- 
proaching they retired, and took shelter in Carlscrona, behind 
the batteries on the island at the entrance of that port. Sir 
Hyde sent in a flag of truce, stating that Denmark had concluded 
an armistice, and requiring an explicit declaration from the 
Court of Sweden, whether it would adhere to or abandon the 
hostile measures which it had taken against the rights and 
interests of Great Britain. The commander, Vice-admiral 
Cronstadt, replied that " he could not answer a question which 
did not come within the particular circle of his duty, but that 
the king was then at Maloe, and would soon be at Carlscrona." 

Gustavus shortly afterwards arrived, and an answer was then 
returned to this effect: "That his Swedish Majesty would not 
for a moment fail to fulfil, with fidelity and sincerity, the 
engagement he had entered into with his allies, but he would 
not refuse to listen to equitable proposals made by deputies 
furnished with proper authority by the King of Great Britain 
to the united northern Powers." 

Satisfied with this answer, and with the known disposition 
of the Swedish Court, Sir Hyde sailed for the Gulf of Finland, 
but he had not proceeded far before a dispatch boat from the 
Russian ambassador at Copenhagen arrived, bringing intelli- 
gence of the death of the Emperor Paul, and that his successor, 
Alexander, had accepted the offer made by England to his 
father • — of terminating the dispute by a convention. The 
British admiral was therefore required to desist from all 
further hostilities. 

It was Nelson's maxim, that, to negotiate with effect, force 
should be at hand, and in a situation to act. The fleet, having 
been reinforced from England, amounted to eighteen sail of 
the line, and the wind was fair for Revel. There he would 
have sailed immediately, to place himself between that division 
of the Russian fleet and the squadron at Cronstadt, in case this 
offer should prove insincere. Sir Hyde, on the other hand, 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. I /I 

believed that the death of Paul had effected all that was neces- 
sary. The manner of that death, indeed, rendered it apparent 
that a change of policy would take place in the Cabinet of 
Petersburg; but Nelson never trusted anything to the uncertain 
events of time which could possibly be secured by promptitude 
or resolution. It was not, therefore, without severe mortifica- 
tion that he saw the commander-in-chief return to the coast of 
Zealand, and anchor in Kioge Bay, there to wait patiently for 
what might happen. 

There the fleet remained till dispatches arrived from home, 
on the 5th of May, recalling Sir Hyde and appointing Nelson 
commander-in-chief. 

Not a moment was now lost. His first signal as commander- 
in-chief was to hoist in all launches and prepare to weigh, and 
on the 7th sailed from Kioge. Part of his fleet was left at 
Bornholm to watch the Swedes, from whom he required and 
obtained an assurance that the British trade in the Cattegat 
and in the Baltic should not be molested ; and saying how 
unpleasant it would be to him if anything should happen which 
might for a moment disturb the returning harmony between 
Sweden and Great Britain, he apprised them that he was not 
directed to abstain from hostilities should he meet with the 
Swedish fleet at sea. • 

Meantime, he himself, with ten sail of the line, two frigates, 
a brig, and a schooner, made for the Gulf of Finland. Paul, in 
one of the freaks of his tyranny, had seized upon all the British 
effects in Russia, and even considered British subjects as his 
prisoners. " I will have all the English shipping and property 
restored," said Nelson, " but I will do nothing violently ; neither 
commit the affairs of my country, nor suffer Russia to mix the 
affairs of Denmark or Sweden with the detention of our ships." 

The wind was fair, and carried him in four days to Revel 
roads. But the bay had been clear of firm ice on the 29th of 
April, while the English were lying idly at Kioge. The 



1/2 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

Russians had cut through the ice in the mole, six feet thick, 
and their whole squadron had sailed for Cronstadt on the 3d. 
Before that time it had lain at the mercy of the English. 
" Nothing," Nelson said, " if it had been right to make the 
attack, could have saved one ship of them in two hours after 
our entering the bay." 

It so happened that there was no cause to regret the oppor- 
tunity which had been lost, and Nelson immediately put the 
intentions of Russia to the proof. He sent on shore to say 
that he came with friendly views, and was ready to return a 
salute. On their part the salute was delayed till a message 
was sent to them to inquire for what reason ; and the officer 
whose neglect had occasioned the delay was put under arrest. 
Nelson wrote to the emperor, proposing to wait on him per- 
sonally, and congratulate him on his accession, and urged the 
immediate release of British subjects and restoration of British 
property. 

The answer arrived on the i6th; Nelson meantime had 
exchanged visits with the governor, and the most friendly 
intercourse had subsisted between the ships and the shore. 
Alexander's ministers in their reply expressed their surprise at 
the arrival of a British fleet in a Russian port, and their wish 
that it should return ; they professed, on the part of Russia, the 
most friendly disposition towards Great Britain, but declined 
the personal visit of Lord Nelson, unless he came in a single 
ship. There was a suspicion implied in this which stung 
Nelson, and he said the Russian ministers would never have 
written thus if their fleet had been at Revel. 

He wrote an immediate reply expressing what he felt ; he 
told the Court of Petersburg that " the word of a British 
admiral, when given in explanation of any part of his conduct, 
was as sacred as that of any sovereign in Europe." And he 
repeated, that " under other circumstances it would have been 
his anxious wish to have paid his personal respects to the 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1/3 

emperor, and signed with his own hand the act of amity 
between the two countries." Having dispatched this, he stood 
out to sea immediately, leaving a brig to bring off the provi- 
sions which had been contracted for, and to settle the accounts. 
*' I hope all is right," said he, writing to our ambassador at 
Berlin ; " but seamen are but bad negotiators, for we put to 
issue in five minutes what diplomatic forms would be five 
months doing." 

On his way down the Baltic, however, he met the Russian 
admiral, Tchitchagof, whom the emperor, in reply to Sir Hyde's 
overtures, had sent to communicate personally with the British 
commander-in-chief. The reply was such as had been wished 
and expected, and these negotiators, going, seaman-like, straight 
to their object, satisfied each other of the friendly intentions 
of their respective governments. Nelson then anchored off 
Rostock, and there he received an answer to his last dispatch 
from Revel, in which the Russian Court expressed their regret 
that there should have been any misconception between them, 
informed him that the British vessels which Paul had detained 
were ordered to be liberated, and invited him to Petersburg in 
whatever mode might be most agreeable to himself. Other 
honors awaited him : the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the 
queen's brother, came to visit him on board his ship ; and 
towns of the inland parts of Mecklenburg sent deputations, 
with their public books of record, that they might have the 
name of Nelson in them written by his own hand. 

From Rostock the fleet returned to Kioge Bay. Nelson saw 
that the temper of the Danes towards England was such as 
naturally arose from the chastisement which they had so 
recently received. " In this nation," said he, " we shall not be 
forgiven for having the upper hand of them ; I only thank God 
we have, or they would try to humble us to the dust." 

Nelson was not deceived in his judgment of the Danish 
Cabinet, but the battle of Copenhagen had crippled its power. 



1/4 southey's life of nelson. 

The death of the Czar Paul had broken the confederacy, and 
that Cabinet, therefore, was compelled to defer till a more con- 
venient season the indulgence of its enmity towards Great 
Britain. Soon afterwards, Admiral Sir Charles Maurice Pole 
arrived to take the command. The business, military and 
political, had by that time been so far completed that the 
presence of the British fleet soon became no longer necessary. 
Sir Charles, however, made the short time of his command 
memorable by passing the Great Belt for the first time with 
line-of-battle ships, — working through the channel against 
adverse winds. 

When Nelson left the fleet, this speedy termination of the 
expedition, though confidently expected, was not certain ; and 
he, in his unwillingness to weaken the British force, thought at 
one time of traversing Jutland in his boat by the canal to Ton- 
ningen, on the Eyder, and finding his way home from thence. 
This intention was not executed, but he returned in a brig, 
declining to accept a frigate, which few admirals would have 
done ; especially if, like him, they suffered from sea-sickness in 
a small vessel. On his arrival at Yarmouth, the first thing he 
did was to visit the hospital and see the men who had been 
wounded in the late battle, that victory which had added new 
glory to the name of Nelson, and which was of more impor- 
tance even than the battle of the Nile to the honor, the 
strength, and security of England. 

He had not been many weeks on shore before he was called 
upon to undertake a service for which no Nelson was required. 
Bonaparte, who was now first consul and in reality sole ruler 
of France, was making preparations upon a great scale for 
invading England, but his schemes in the Baltic had been 
baffled ; fleets could not be created as they were wanted ; and 
his armies, therefore, were to come over in gun-boats and such 
small craft as could be rapidly built or collected for the occa- 
sion. From the former governments of France such threats 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 75 

have only been matter of insult or policy ; in Bonaparte they 
were sincere, for this adventurer, intoxicated with success, 
already began to imagine that all things were to be submitted 
to his fortune. We had not at that time proved the superiority 
of our soldiers over the French, and the unreflecting multitude 
were not to be persuaded that an invasion could only be 
effected by numerous and powerful fleets. A general alarm 
was excited, and in condescension to this unworthy feeling 
Nelson was appointed to a command extending from Orford- 
ness to Beachy Head, on both shores ; a sort of service, he 
said, for which he felt no other ability than what might be 
found in his zeal. 

To this service, however, such as it was, he applied himself 
with his wonted alacrity ; and having hoisted his flag in the 
Medusa frigate, he went to reconnoitre Boulogne, the point 
from which it was supposed the great attempt would be made, 
and which the French, in fear of an attack themselves, were 
fortifying with all care. He approached near enough to sink 
two of their floating batteries and destroy a few gun-boats 
which were without the pier ; what damage was done within 
could not be ascertained. " Boulogne," he said, "^ was certainly 
not a very pleasant place that morning ; but," he added, " it is 
not my wish to injure the poor inhabitants, and the town is 
spared as much as the nature of the service will admit." 
Enough was done to show the enemy that they could not with 
impunity come outside their own ports. Nelson was satisfied 
by what he saw that they meant to make an attempt from this 
place, but that it was impracticable, for the least wind at 
W. N.W. and they were lost. The ports of Flushing and 
Flanders were better points ; there we could not tell by our 
eyes what means of transport were provided. From thence, 
therefore, if it came forth at all, the expedition would come. 
" And what a forlorn undertaking ! " said he ; " consider cross- 
tides, etc. As for rowing, that is impossible. It is perfectly 



1/6 southey's life of nelson. 

right to be prepared for a mad government, but with the active 
force which has been given me I may pronounce it almost 
impracticable." 

That force had been got together with an alacrity which has 
seldom been equaled. On the 28th of July we were, in 
Nelson's own words, literally at the foundation of our fabric of 
defense ; and twelve days afterwards we were so prepared on 
the enemy's coast that he did not believe they could get three 
miles from their ports. The Medusa^ returning to our own 
shores, anchored in the rolling ground off Harwich ; and when 
Nelson wished to get to the Nore in her, the wind rendered it 
impossible to proceed there by the usual channel. In haste to 
be at the Nore, remembering that he had been a tolerable pilot 
for the mouth of the Thames in his younger days, and thinking 
it necessary that he should know all that could be known of 
the navigation, he requested the maritime surveyor of the 
coast, Mr. Spence, to get him into the Swin by any channel, 
for neither the pilots whom he had on board, nor the Harwich 
ones, would take charge of the ship. No vessel drawing more 
than fourteen feet had ever before ventured over the Naze. 
Mr. Spence, however, who had surveyed the channel, carried 
her safely through. The channel has since been called Nel- 
son's, though he himself wished it to be named after the 
Medusa; his name needed no new memorial. 

Nelson's eye was upon Flushing. " To take possession of 
that place," he said, "would be a week's expedition for four or 
five thousand troops." This, however, required a consultation 
with the Admiralty ; and that something might be done mean- 
time, he resolved upon attacking the flotilla in the mouth of 
Boulogne harbor. This resolution was made in deference to 
the opinion of others, and to the public feeling which was so 
preposterously excited. He himself scrupled not to assert that 
the French army would never embark at Boulogne for the 
invasion of England ; and he owned that this boat warfare was 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. I// 

not congenial to his feelings. Into Helvoet or Flushing he 
should be happy to lead, if Government turned their thoughts 
that way. " While I serve," said he, " I will do it actively, and 
to the very best of my abilities. I require nursing like a child," 
he added ; " my mind carries me beyond by strength, and will 
do me up. But such is my nature." 

The attack was made by the boats of the squadron in five 
divisions, under Captains Somerville, Parker, Cotgrave, Jones, 
and Conn. The previous essay had taught the French the 
weak parts of their position, and they omitted no means of 
strengthening it, and of guarding against the expected attempt. 
The boats put off about half an hour before midnight; but owing 
to the darkness and tide and half-tide, which must always make 
night attacks so uncertain on the coasts of the Channel, the 
divisions separated. One could not arrive at all ; another not 
till near daybreak. The others made their attack gallantly ; 
but the enemy were fully prepared : every vessel was defended 
by long poles, headed with iron spikes projecting from their 
sides ; strong nettings were braced up to their lower yards ; 
they were moored by the bottom to the shore ; they were 
strongly manned with soldiers and protected by land batteries, 
and the shore was lined with troops. Many were taken posses- 
sion of ; and though they could not have been brought out, 
they would have been burned, had not the French resorted to 
a mode of offense which they have often used, but which no 
other people have ever been wicked enough to employ. The 
moment the firing ceased on board one of their own vessels, 
they fired upon it from the shore, perfectly regardless of their 
own men. 

The commander of one of the French divisions acted like a 
generous enemy. He hailed the boats as they approached, and 
cried out in English, '' Let me advise you, my brave English- 
men, to keep your distance — you can do nothing here ; and it 
is only uselessly shedding the blood of brave men to make the 



1/8 southey's life of nelson. 

attempt." The French official account boasted of the victory. 
" The combat," it said, " took place in sight of both countries ; 
it was the first of the kind, and the historian would have cause 
to make the remark." They guessed our loss at four or five 
hundred : it amounted to one hundred and seventy-two. In his 
private letters to the Admiralty, Nelson affirmed that had our 
force arrived as he intended, it was not all the chains in France 
which could have prevented our men from bringing off the 
whole of the vessels. There had been no error committed, and 
never did Englishmen display more courage. Upon this point 
Nelson was fully satisfied ; but he said he should never bring 
himself again to allow any attack wherein he was not personally 
concerned, and that his mind suffered more than if he had had 
a leg shot off in the affair. 

He grieved particularly for Captain Parker, an excellent 
officer, to whom he was greatly attached, and who had an aged 
father looking to him for assistance. His thigh was shattered 
in the action, and the wound proved mortal after some weeks 
of suffering and manly resignation. During this interval Nel- 
son's anxiety was very great. '' Dear Parker is my child," said 
he, " for I found him in distress." And when he received the 
tidings of his death, he replied : " You will judge of my feelings: 
God's will be done. I beg that his hair may be cut off and 
given me ; it shall be buried in my grave. Poor Mr. Parker ! 
what a son has he lost ! If I were to say I was content, I 
should lie ; but I shall endeavor to submit with all the fortitude 
in my power. His loss has made a wound in my heart which 
time will hardly heal." 

He now wished to be relieved from this service. The coun- 
try, he said, had attached a confidence to his name which he 
had submitted to, and therefore had cheerfully repaired to the 
station ; but this boat business, though it might be part of a 
great plan of invasion, could never be the only one, and he did 
not think it was a command for a vice-admiral. It was not that 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 79 

he wanted a more lucrative situation, for, seriously indisposed 
as he was, and low-spirited from private considerations, he did 
not know, if the Mediterranean were vacant, that he should be 
equal to undertake it. Just at this time the Peace of Amiens 
was signed. Nelson rejoiced that the experiment was made, 
but was well aware that it was an experiment : he saw what he 
called the misery of peace, unless the utmost vigilance and 
prudence were exerted ; and he expressed in bitter terms his 
proper indignation at the manner in which the mob of London 
welcomed the French general who brought the ratification, 
saying that, ' ' they made him ashamed of his country." 

He had purchased a house and estate at Merton, in Surrey, 
meaning to pass his days there in the society of Sir William 
and Lady Hamilton. This place he had never seen till he was 
now welcomed there by the friends to whom he had so 
passionately devoted himself, and who were not less sincerely 
attached to him. The place, and everything which Lady 
Hamilton had done to it, delighted him ; and he declared that 
the longest liver should possess it all. His pensions for his 
victories and for the loss of his eye and arm amounted, with 
his half-pay, to about ^{^3400 a year. From this he gave 
j^iSoo to Lady Nelson, ;^2oo to a brother's widow, and ^^150 
for the education of his children, and he paid ;^5oo interest 
for borrowed money ; so that Nelson was comparatively a poor 
man, and even if he had been free from the pecuniary embar- 
rassment which he suffered, his income would not have been 
sufhcient for the rank which he held, and the claims which 
would necessarily be made upon his bounty. 

The depression of spirits under which he had long labored 
arose partly from this state of his circumstances and partly 
from domestic disquietudes, which were increased a few months 
afterwards by the death of his father, at the age of seventy-nine. 

Soon after the conclusion of peace, tidings arrived of our 
final and decisive successes in Egypt ; in consequence of which 



i8o southey's life of nelson. 

the Common Council voted their thanks to the army and navy 
for bringing the campaign to so glorious a conclusion. When 
Nelson, after the action of Cape St. Vincent, had been enter- 
tained at a City feast, he had observed to the Lord Mayor, that 
" if the City continued its generosity, the navy would ruin them 
in gifts." To which the Lord Mayor replied, putting his hand 
upon the admiral's shoulder, " Do you find victories and we 
will find rewards." 

The happiness which Nelson enjoyed in the society of his 
chosen friends was of no long continuance. Sir William 
Hamilton, who was far advanced in years, died early in 1803. 
He expired in his wife's arms, holding Nelson by the hand, and 
almost in his last words left her to his protection ; requesting 
him that he would see justice done her by the government, as 
he knew what she had done for her country. He left him her 
portrait in enamel, calling him his dearest friend — the most 
virtuous, loyal, and truly brave character he had ever known. 
The codicil containing this bequest concluded with these words: 
" God bless him, and shame fall on those who do not say Amen." 
Sir William's pension, of ^120 a year, ceased with his death. 
Nelson applied to Mr. Addington, in Lady Hamilton's behalf, 
stating the important service which she had rendered to the 
fleet at Syracuse ; and Mr. Addington, it is said, acknowledged 
that she had a just claim upon the gratitude of the country. 
This barren acknowledgment was all that was obtained ; but a 
sum equal to the pension which her husband had enjoyed was 
settled on her by Nelson, and paid in monthly payments during 
his life. A few weeks after this event the war was renewed, 
and the day after his Majesty's message to Parliament Nelson 
departed to take the command of the Mediterranean fleet.^ 

1 George Ticknor, the eminent historian, in his " Life and Letters," vol. i. 
p. 63, cites a significant anecdote of Nelson. It was told to him by Benjamin 
West, the famous painter. It seems that at a banquet given to the great 
admiral, West sat next to him. In the course of the dinner Nelson 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. l8l 

He took his station immediately off Toulon, and there, with 
incessant vigilance, waited for the coming out of the enemy. 
When he had been fourteen months thus employed he received 
a vote of thanks from the city of London for his skill and per- 
severance in blockading that port, so as to prevent the French 
from putting to sea. Nelson had not forgotten the wrong 
which the city had done to the Baltic fleet by their omission, 
and he did not lose the opportunity which this vote afforded 
of recurring to that point. " I do assure your lordship," said 
he in his answer to the Lord Mayor, " that there is not that man 
breathing who sets a higher value upon the thanks of his fellow- 
citizens of London than myself; but I should feel as much 
ashamed to receive them for a particular service, marked in the 
resolution, if I felt that I did not come within that line of ser- 
vice, as I should feel hurt at having a great victory passed over 
without notice. I beg to inform your lordship that the port of 
Toulon has never been blockaded by me — quite the reverse. 
Every opportunity has been offered the enemy to put to sea, 
for it is there we hope to realize the hopes and expectations of 
our country." 

Nelson then remarked that the junior flag-officers of his fleet 
had been omitted in this vote of thanks, and his surprise at the 
omission was expressed with more asperity, perhaps, than an 

expressed to Sir William Hamilton his regret that in his youth he had not 
acquired some taste for art. " But," said he, turning to West, " there is one 
picture whose power I do feel. I never pass a paint-shop where your ' Death 
of Wolfe' is in the window, without being stopped by it." West, of course 
acknowledged the compliment, and Nelson went on to ask why he had 
painted no more like it. " Because, my lord, there are no more subjects." 
'' I didn't think of that," said the admiral, and asked him to take a glass of 
champagne. " But, my lord, I fear your intrepidity will yet furnish me such 
another scene ; and, if it should, I shall certainly avail myself of it." "' Will 
you," said Nelson, touching his glass violently against West's, — "will you, 
Mr. West ? Then I hope I shall die in the next battle." He sailed a few 
days after, and the result was the magnificent painting by the world's great 
painter of historic events. 



1 82 southey's life of nelson. 

offense so entirely and manifestly unintentional deserved ; but 
it arose from that generous regard for the feelings as well as 
interests of all who were under his command, which made him 
as much beloved in the fleets of Britain as he was dreaded in 
those of the enemy. 

Never was any commander more beloved. He governed 
men by their reason and their affections : they knew that he 
was incapable of caprice or tyranny, and they obeyed him with 
alacrity and joy, because he possessed their confidence as well 
as their love. " Our Nel," they used to say, " is as brave as a 
lion and as gentle as a lamb." Severe discipline he detested, 
though he had been bred in a severe school; he never inflicted 
corporal punishment if it were possible to avoid it, and when 
compelled to enforce it he who was familiar with wounds and 
death suffered like a woman. In his whole life Nelson was 
never known to act unkindly towards an officer. If he was 
asked to prosecute one for ill-behavior, he used to answer that 
" there was no occasion for him to ruin a poor wretch who was 
sufficiently his own enemy to ruin himself." But in Nelson 
there was more than the easiness and humanity of a happy 
nature ; he did not merely abstain from injury ; his was an 
active and watchful benevolence, ever desirous not only to 
render justice, but to do good. During the peace he had 
spoken in Parliament upon the abuses respecting prize-money, 
and had submitted plans to Government for more easily 
manning the navy, and preventing desertion from it, by 
bettering the condition of the seamen. He proposed that 
their certificates should be registered, and that every man who 
had served with a good character five years in war should re- 
ceive a bounty of two guineas annually after that time, and 
of four guineas after eight years. " This," he said, " might at 
first sight appear an enormous sum for the State to pay, but 
the average life of a seaman is, from hard service, finished at 
forty-five: he cannot therefore enjoy the annuity many years, 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 83 

and the interest of the money saved by their not deserting 
would go far to pay the whole expense." 

To his midshipmen he ever showed the most winning kind- 
ness, encouraging the diffident, tempering the hasty, counsel- 
ling and befriending both. " Recollect," he used to say, 
" that you must be a seaman to be an officer, and also that 
you cannot be a good officer without being a gentleman." A 
lieutenant wrote to him to say that he was dissatisfied with 
his captain. Nelson's answer was in that spirit of perfect 
wisdom and perfect goodness which regulated his whole con- 
duct toward those who were under his command. " I have 
just received your letter, and I am truly sorry that any differ- 
ence should arise between your captain, who has the reputation 
of being one of the bright officers of the service, and yourself, 
a very young man and a very young officer, who must natu- 
rally have much to learn ; therefore the chance is that you 
are perfectly wrong in the disagreement. However, as your 
present situation must be very disagreeable, I will certainly 
take an early opportunity of removing you, provided your 
conduct to your present captain be such that another may not 
refuse to receive you." ^ 

1 Some interesting details of Nelson's great industry, even in apparently 
trifling matters, are given by his chaplain, the Rev. A. J. Scott. It appears 
that the great admiral had Dr. Samuel Johnson's capacity of tearing the 
heart out of a book. A swift glance at a page or two enabled him to 
gather the writer's object. Day after day he and his chaplain and a secre- 
tary sat poring over the papers which loaded the table. The cabin was 
furnished with two black leather arm-chairs, each with capacious pockets, 
and Scott, exhausted by the labor of translating, would sometimes throw 
into one of these pockets some score or so of unopened private letters 
found in captured ships ; but such was Nelson's restless solicitude that he 
was uneasy if even a single document was unexamined. These leathern 
chairs, with the help of an ottoman, when lashed together, formed a couch 
on which he would often snatch a few winks of sleep, which supplied him 
with as much refreshment as an ordinary mortal might obtain from a long 
night's rest. 



184 southey's life of nelson. 

The gentleness and benignity of his disposition never made 
him forget what was due to discipHne. Being on one occasion 
appUed to to save a young officer from a court-martial which he 
had provoked by his misconduct, his reply was, that " he would 
do everything in his power to oblige so gallant and good an 
officer as Sir John Warren," in whose name the intercession 
had been made; "but what," he added, "would he do if he 
were here ? Exactly what I have done, and am still willing to 
do. The young man must write such a letter of contrition as 
would be an acknowledgment of his great fault, and with a 
sincere promise, if his captain will intercede to prevent the 
impending court-martial, never to so misbehave again. On his 
captain inclosing me such a letter, with a request to cancel the 
order for the trial, I might be induced to do it ; but the letters 
and reprimand will be given in the public order-book of the 
fleet and read to all the officers. The young man has pushed 
himself forward to notice, and he must take the consequence. 
It was upon the quarter-deck, in the face of the ship's com- 
pany, that he treated his captain with contempt ; and I am in 
duty bound to support the authority and consequence of every 
officer under my command. A poor ignorant seaman is forever 
punished for contempt to his superiors." 

A dispute occurred in the fleet while it was off Toulon, 
which called forth Nelson's zeal for the rights and interests of 
the navy. Some young artillery officers, serving on board the 
bomb-vessels, refused to let their men perform any other duty 
but what related to the mortars. They wished to have it 
established that their corps was not subject to the captain's 
authority. The same pretensions were made in the Channel 
Fleet about the same time, and the artillery rested their claims 
to separate and independent authority on board upon a clause 
in the act which they interpreted in their favor. Nelson took 
up the subject with all the earnestness which its importance 
deserved. " There is no real happiness in this world," said he, 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 85 

writing to Earl St. Vincent as First Lord. " With all content 
and smiles around me up start these artillery boys (I under- 
stand they are not beyond that age) and set us at defiance, 
speaking in the most disrespectful manner of the navy and its 
commanders. I know you, my dear lord, so well, that with 
your quickness the matter would have been settled, and per- 
haps some of them been broke. I am perhaps more patient^ 
but, I do assure you, not less resolved, if my plan of concilia- 
tion is not attended to. You and I are on the eve of quitting 
the theatre of our exploits; but we hold it due to our succes- 
sors never, whilst we have a tongue to speak or a hand to write, 
to allow the navy to be in the smallest degree injured in its 
discipline by our conduct." 

To Trowbridge he wrote in the same spirit : " It is the old 
history, trying to do away the act of parliament ; but I trust 
they will never succeed, for when they do, farewell to our naval 
superiority. , We should be prettily commanded ! Let them 
once gain the step of being independent of the navy on board 
a ship, and they will soon have the other and command us. 
But, thank God, my dear Trowbridge, the King himself cannot 
do away- the act of parliament. Although my career is nearly 
run, yet it would embitter my future days and expiring moments 
to hear of our navy being sacrificed to the army." As the surest 
way of preventing such disputes, he suggested that the navy 
should have its own corps of artillery; and a corps of marine 
artillery was accordingly established. 

Instead of lessening the power of the commander. Nelson 
would have wished to see it increased. It was absolutely 
necessary, he thought, that merit should be rewarded at the 
moment, and that the ofiicers of the fleet should look up to the 
commander-in-chief for their reward. He himself was never 
more happy than when he could promote those who were 
deserving of promotion. Many were the services which he 
thus rendered unsolicited, and frequently the officer in whose 



1 86 southey's life of nelson. 

behalf he had interested himself with the Admiralty did not 
know to whose friendly interference he was indebted for his 
good fortune. He used to say, " I wish it to appear as a God- 
send." The love which he bore the navy made him promote 
the interests and honor the memory of all who had added to 
its glories. " The near relations of brother officers," he said, 
" he considered as legacies to the service." Upon mention being 
made to him of a son of Rodney by the Duke of Clarence, his 
reply was : " I agree with your Royal Highness most entirely, 
that the son of a Rodney ought to be the protege of every 
person in the kingdom, and particularly of the sea officers. 
Had I known that there had been this claimant, some of my 
own lieutenants must have given way to such a name, and he 
should have been placed in the Victory ; she is full, and I have 
twenty on my list, but whatever numbers I have, the name of 
Rodney must cut many of them out." 

Such was the proper sense which Nelson felt of what was 
due to splendid services and illustrious names. His feelings 
toward the brave men who had served with him are shown by 
a note in his diary, which was probably not intended for any 
other eye than his own: — "Nov. 7. I had the comfort of 
making an old "^ Agamemnon,'' George Jones, a gunner into the 
Chmneleon brig." 

When Nelson took the command it was expected that the 
Mediterranean would be an active scene. Nelson well under- 
stood the character of the perfidious Corsican who was now 
sole tyrant of France, and knowing that he was as ready to 
attack his friends as his enemies, knew therefore that nothing 
could be more uncertain than the direction of the fleet from 
Toulon, whenever it should put to sea. " It had as many 
destinations," he said, '* as there were countries." The momen- 
tous revolutions of the last ten years had given him ample 
matter for reflection as well as opportunities for observation. 
The film was cleared from his eyes, and now, wheft the French 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 8/ 

no longer went abroad with the cry of liberty and equality, 
he saw that the oppression and misrule of the powers which 
had been opposed to them had been the main causes of their 
success, and that those causes would still prepare the way 
before them. Even in Sicily, where, if it had been possible 
longer to blind himself, Nelson would willingly have seen no 
evil, he perceived that the people wished for a change, and 
acknowledged that they had reason to wish for it. In Sardinia 
the same burden of misgovernment was felt, and the people, 
like the Sicilians, were impoverished by a government so 
utterly incompetent to perform its first and most essential 
duties, that it did not protect its own coasts from the Barbary 
pirates. He would fain have had us purchase this island (the 
finest in the Mediterranean) from its sovereign, who did not 
receive £s^'^-'^ ^ Y^^^ from it after its wretched establishment 
was paid. 

There was reason to think that France was preparing to 
possess herself of this important point, which afforded our 
fleet facilities for watching Toulon not to be obtained else- 
where. An expedition was preparing at Corsica for the 
purpose, and all the Sardes who had taken part with revolu- 
tionary France were ordered to assemble there. It was certain 
that if the attack were made it would succeed. Nelson 
thought that the only means to prevent Sardinia from be- 
coming French was to make it English, and that half a mil- 
lion would give the king a rich price and England a cheap 
purchase. 

The proposed attack was postponed. Views of wider am- 
bition were opening upon Bonaparte, who now almost undis- 
guisedly aspired to make himself master of the continent of 
Europe, and Austria was preparing for another struggle, to be 
conducted as weakly and terminated as miserably as the 
former. Spain, too, was once more to be involved in war by 
the policy of France ; that perfidious government having in 



1 88 soutiiey's life of nelson. 

view the double object of employing the Spanish resources 
against England, and exhausting them in order to render Spain 
herself finally its prey. Nelson, who knew that England and 
the Peninsula ought to be in alliance, for the common interest 
of both, frequently expressed his hopes that Spain might 
resume her national rank among the nations. "We ought," 
he said, " by mutual consent, to be the very best friends, and 
both to be ever hostile to France." But he saw that Bona- 
parte was meditating the destruction of Spain, and that, while 
the wretched court of Madrid professed to remain neutral, the 
appearances of neutrality were scarcely preserved. 

An order of the year 177 1, excluding British ships of war 
from the Spanish ports, was revived and put in force, while 
French privateers from these very ports annoyed the British 
trade, carried their prizes in, and sold them even at Barcelona. 
Nelson complained of this to the captain-general of Catalonia, 
informing him that he claimed for every British ship or squad- 
ron the right of lying as long as it pleased in the ports of 
Spain while that was allowed to other powers. To the British 
ambassador he said, " I am ready to make large allowances for 
the miserable situation Spain has placed herself in, but there 
is a certain line beyond which I cannot submit to be treated 
with disrespect. We have given up French vessels taken within 
gunshot of the Spanish shore, and yet French vessels are per- 
mitted to attack our ships from the Spanish shore. Your 
Excellency may assure the Spanish government that in what- 
ever place the Spaniards allow the French to attack us, in that 
place I shall order the French to be attacked." 

During this state of things, to which the weakness of Spain, 
and not her will, consented, the efiemy's fleet did not venture 
to put to sea. Nelson watched it with unremitting and almost 
unexampled perseverance. The station off Toulon he called 
his home. " We are in the right fighting trim," said he ; " let 
them come as soon as they please. I never saw a fleet alto- 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 89 

gether so well officered and manned : would to God the ships 
were half so good ! The finest ones in the service would soon 
be destroyed by such terrible weather. I know well enough 
that if I were to go into Malta I should save the ships during 
this bad season; but if I am to watch the French I must be at 
sea, and if at sea, must have bad weather; and if the ships are 
not fit to stand bad weather they are useless." 

Then ,only he was satisfied and at ease when he had the 
enemy in view. Mr. Elliot, our minister at Naples, seems at 
this time to have proposed to send a confidential Frenchman to 
him with information. " I should be very happy," he replied, 
"to receive authentic intelligence of the destination of the 
French squadron, their route, and time of sailing. Anything 
short of this is useless, and I assure your Excellency that I 
would not upon any consideration have a Frenchman in the 
fleet except as a prisoner. I put no confidence in them. You 
think yours good ; the queen thinks the same ; I believe they 
are all alike. Whatever information you can get me I shall be 
very thankful for ; but not a Frenchman comes here. Forgive 
me, but my mother hated the French ! " 

M. Latouche Treville, who had commanded at Boulogne, 
commanded now at Toulon. " He was sent for on purpose," 
said Nelson, " as he beat me at Boulogne, to beat me again ; but 
he seems very loath to try." One day, while the main body of 
our fleet was out of sight of land. Rear-admiral Campbell 
reconnoitring with the Cmiopas^ Dojiegal, and Amazon, stood in 
close to the port, and M. Latouche, taking advantage of a 
breeze which sprung up, pushed out with four ships of the line 
and three heavy frigates, and chased him about four leagues. 
The Frenchman, delighted at having found himself in so novel 
a situation, published a boastful account, affirming that he had 
given chase to the whole British fleet, and that Nelson had 
fled before him. Nelson thought it due to the Admiralty to 
send home a copy of the Victory s log upon this occasion. '' As 



1 90 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

for himself," he said, " if his character was not established by 
that time for not being apt to run away, it was not worth his 
while to put the world right." " If this fleet gets fairly up 
with M. Latouche," said he to one of his correspondents, " his 
letter, with all his ingenuity, must be different from his last. 
We had fancied that we chased him into Toulon, for, blind as 
I am, I could see his water-line when he clued his topsails up, 
shutting in Sepet. But from the time of his meeting Captain 
Hawker in the Isis I never heard of his acting otherwise than 
as a poltroon and a liar. Contempt is the best mode of treat- 
ing such a miscreant." In spite, however, of contempt, the 
impudence of this Frenchman half angered him. He said to 
his brother, " You will have seen Latouche's letter ; how he 
chased me, and how I ran. I keep it, and if I take him, he 
shall eat it ! " 

Nelson, who used to say that in sea affairs nothing is impos- 
sible and nothing improbable, feared the more that this 
Frenchman might get out and elude his vigilance because he 
was so especially desirous of catching him, and administering 
to him his own lying letter in a sandwich. M. Latouche, 
however, escaped him in another way. He died, according to 
the French papers, in consequence of walking so often up to 
the signal-post upon Sepet to watch the British fleet. '' I 
always pronounced that would be his death," said Nelson. 
" If he had come out and fought me, it would at least have 
added ten years to my life." The patience with which he had 
watched Toulon he spoke of truly as a perseverance at sea 
which had never been surpassed. From May, 1803, to August, 
1805, he himself went out of his ship but three times; each of 
those times was upon the King's service, and neither time of 
absence exceeded an hour. The weather had been so unusually 
severe that he said the Mediterranean seemed altered. It was 
his rule never to contend with the gales, but either run to the 
southward to escape their violence, or furl all the sails and, 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. I9I 

make the ships as easy as possible. The men, though he said 
flesh and blood could hardly stand it, continued in excellent 
health, which he ascribed in great measure to a plentiful supply 
of lemons and onions. For himself he thought he could only 
last till the battle was over. 

One battle more it was his hope that he might fight. " How- 
ever," said he, " whatever happens I have run a glorious race." 
He was afraid of blindness, and this was the only evil which he 
could not contemplate without unhappiness. More alarming 
♦symptoms he regarded with less apprehension, describing his 
own " shattered carcass " as in the worst plight of any in the 
fleet, and he says : " I have felt the blood gushing up the left 
side of my head, and the moment it covers the brain I am fast 
asleep." The fleet was in worse trim than the men, but when 
he compared it with the enemy's, it was with a right English 
feeling. " The French fleet yesterday," said he in one of his 
letters, " was to appearance in high feather, and as fine as paint 
could make them ; but when they may sail, or where they may 
go, I am very sorry to say is a secret I am not acquainted with. 
Our weather-beaten ships, I have no fear, will make their sides 
like a plum pudding." 

Hostilities at length commenced between Great Britain and 
Spain. That country, whose miserable government made her 
subservient to France, was once more destined to lavish her 
resources and her blood in furtherance of the designs of a 
perfidious ally. The immediate occasion of the war was the 
seizure of four treasure-ships by the English. The act was 
perfectly justifiable, for those treasures were intended to fur- 
nish means for France ; but the circumstances which attended 
it were as unhappy as they were unforeseen. Four frigates had 
been dispatched to intercept them. They met with an equal 
force. Resistance therefore became a point of honor on the 
part of the Spaniards, and one of their ships soon blew up with 
all on board. Had a stronger squadron been sent this deplor- 



192 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

able catastrophe might have been spared — a catastrophe which 
excited not more indignation in Spain than it did grief in those 
who were its unwilling instruments, in the English government 
and in the English people. On the 5th of October this unhappy- 
affair occurred, and Nelson was not apprised of it till the 12 th 
of the ensuing month. 

He had indeed sufficient mortification at the breaking out of 
the Spanish war, an event which it might reasonably have been 
supposed would amply enrich the officers of the Mediterranean 
fleet, and repay them for the severe and unremitting duty or» 
which they had been so long employed. But of this harvest 
they were deprived, for Sir John Orde was sent with a small 
squadron and a separate command to Cadiz. Nelson's feelings 
were never wounded so deeply as now. " I had thought," said 
he, writing in the first flow and freshness of indignation : " I 
fancied — but nay, it must have been a dream, an idle dream 
— yet, I confess it, I did fancy that I had done my country ser- 
vice, and thus they use me ! And under what circumstances 
and with what pointed aggravation ! Yet if I know my own 
thoughts, it is not for myself, or on my own account chiefly, 
that I feel the sting and the disappointment. No ! it is for my 
brave officers, for my noble-minded friends and comrades. Such 
a gallant set of fellows ! Such a band of brothers ! My heart 
swells at the thought of them ! " 

War between Spain and England was now declared, and on 
the 18th of January the Toulon fleet, having the Spaniards to 
cooperate with them, put to sea. Nelson was at anchor off the 
coast of Sardinia, where the Madelena Islands form one of the 
finest harbors in the world, when at three in the afternoon of 
the 19th the Active and Seahorse frigates brought this long- 
hoped-for intelligence. They had been close to the enemy at 
ten on the preceding night, but lost sight of them in about four 
hours. The fleet immediately unmoored and weighed, and at 
six in the evening ran through the straits between Biche and 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. • 1 93 

Sardinia, a passage so narrow that the ships could only pass 
one at a time, each following the stern lights of its leader. 
From the position of the enemy when they were last seen it 
was inferred that they must be bound round the southern end 
of Sardinia. Signal was made the next morning to prepare 
for battle. Bad weather came on, baffling the one fleet in its 
object and the other in its pursuit. Nelson beat about the 
Sicilian seas for ten days without obtaining any other infor- 
mation of the enemy than that one of their ships had put into 
Ajaccio dismasted, and having seen that Sardinia, Naples, and 
Sicily were safe, believing Egypt to be their destination, for 
Egypt he ran. 

The disappointment and distress which he had experienced 
in his former pursuits of the French through the same seas 
were now renewed, but Nelson, while he endured these anxious 
and unhappy feelings, was still consoled by the same confidence 
as on the former occasion, that though his judgment might be 
erroneous, under all circumstances he was right in having 
formed it. *' I have consulted no man," said he to the 
Admiralty, " therefore the whole blame of ignorance in form- 
ing my judgment muSt rest with me. I would allow no man to 
take from me an atom of my glory had I fallen in with the 
French fleet, nor do I desire any man to partake any of the 
responsibility. All is mine, right or wrong." Then stating 
the grounds upon which he had proceeded, he added : " At this 
moment of sorrow I still feel that I have acted right." In the 
same spirit he said to Sir Alexander Ball : " When I call to 
remembrance all the circumstances, I approve, if nobody else 
does, of my own conduct." 

Baffled thus, he bore up for Malta, and met intelligence from 
Naples that the French, having been dispersed in a gale, had 
put back to Toulon. From the same quarter he learned that a 
great number of saddles and muskets had been embarked ; and 
this confirmed him in his opinion that Egypt was their destina- 



194 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

tion. That they should have put back in consequence of 
storms which he had weathered, gave him a consoling sense of 
British superiority. " These gentlemen," said he, " are not 
accustomed to a Gulf of Lyons gale ; we have buffeted them 
for one and twenty months, and not carried away a spar." 
He, however, who had so often braved these gales was now, 
though not mastered by them, vexatiously thwarted and 
impeded ; and on February 27 th he was compelled to anchor in 
Pulla Bay, in the Gulf of Cagliari. From the 21st of January 
the fleet had remained ready for battle, without a bulkhead up 
night or day. He anchored here that he might not be driven 
to leeward. As soon as the weather moderated he put to sea 
again ; and after again beating about against contrary winds, 
another gale drove him to anchor in the Gulf of Palma on the 
8th of March. This he made his rendezvous ; he knew that 
the French troops still remained embarked, and wishing to 
lead them into a belief that he was stationed upon the 
Spanish coast, he made his appearance oif Barcelona with 
that intent. 

About the end of the month he began to fear that the plan 
of the expedition was abandoned, and sailing once more 
towards his old station off Toulon, on the 4th of April he met 
the Phcebe, with news that Villeneuve had put to sea on the last 
of March with eleven ships of the line, seven frigates, and two 
brigs. When last seen they were steering towards the coast of 
Africa. Nelson first covered the channel between Sardinia and 
Barbary, so as to satisfy himself that Villeneuve was not taking 
the same route for Egypt which Gantheaume had taken before 
him, when he attempted to carry reinforcements there. Certain 
of this, he bore up on the 7 th for Palermo, lest the French 
should pass to the north of Corsica, and he dispatched cruisers 
in all directions. On the nth he felt assured that they were not 
going down the Mediterranean, and sending off frigates to Gib- 
raltar, to Lisbon, and to Admiral Cornwallis, who commanded 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 95 

the squadron off Brest, he endeavored to get to the westward, 
beating against westerly winds. After five days a neutral gave 
intelligence that the French had been seen off Cape de Gatte 
on the 7th. It was soon afterwards ascertained that they had 
passed the Straits of Gibraltar on the day following ; and Nel- 
son, knowing that they might already be half-way to Ireland or 
to Jamaica, exclaimed that he was miserable. One gleam of 
comfort only came across him in the reflection that his vigilance 
had rendered it impossible for them to undertake any expedi- 
tion in the Mediterranean. 

Eight days after this certain intelligence had been obtained 
he described his state of mind thus forcibly in writing to the 
governor of Malta : '' My good fortune, my dear Ball, seems 
flown away. I cannot get a fair wind, or even a side wind. 
Dead foul ! Dead foul ! But my soul is fully made up what 
to do when I leave the Straits, supposing there is no certain 
account of the enemy's destination. I believe this ill-luck will 
go near to kill me ; but as these are times of exertion, I must 
not be cast down, whatever I may feel." In spite of every 
exertion which could be made by all the zeal and all the skill 
of British seamen, he did not get in sight of Gibraltar till the 
30th of April, and the wind was then so adverse that it was 
impossible to pass the Gut. He anchored in Mazari Bay, on 
the Barbary shore ; obtained supplies from Tetuan ; and when 
on the 5th a breeze from the eastward sprang up at last, sailed 
once more, hoping to hear of the enemy from Sir John Orde, 
who commanded off Cadiz, or from Lisbon. " If nothing is 
heard of them," said he to the Admiralty, " I shall probably 
think the rumors which have been spread are true, that their 
object is the West Indies, and in that case I think it my duty 
to follow them ; or to the Antipodes, should I believe that to 
be their destination." At the time when this resolution was 
taken the physician of the fleet had ordered him to return to 
England before the hot months. 



196 southey's life of nelson. 

Nelson had formed his judgment of their destination, and 
made up his mind accordingly, when Donald Campbell, at that 
time an admiral in the Portuguese service, the same person who 
had given important tidings to Earl St. Vincent of the move- 
ments of that fleet from which he won his title, a second time 
gave timely and momentous intelligence to the flag of his 
country. He went on board the Victory, and communicated to 
Nelson his certain knowledge that the combined Spanish and 
French fleets were bound for the West Indies. Hitherto all 
things had favored the enemy. While the British commander 
was beating up against strong southerly and westerly gales, 
they had wind to their wish from the N.E., and had done 
in nine days what he was a whole month in accomplishing. 
Villeneuve, finding the Spaniards at Carthagena were not in a 
state of equipment to join him, dared not wait, but hastened 
on to Cadiz. Sir John Orde necessarily retired at his approach. 
Admiral Gravina, with six Spanish ships of the line and two 
French, came out to him, and they sailed without a moment's 
loss of time. They had about three thousand French troops 
on board and fifteen hundred Spanish ; six hundred were under 
orders expecting them at Martinique, and one thousand at 
Guadaloupe. General Lauriston commanded the troops. The 
combined fleet now consisted of eighteen sail of the line, six 
forty-four gun frigates, one of twenty-six guns, three corvettes, 
and a brig. They were joined afterwards by two new French 
line-of -battle ships and one forty-four. Nelson pursued them 
with ten sail of the line and three frigates. " Take you a 
Frenchman apiece," said he to his captains, " and leave me the 
Spaniards ; when I haul down my colors I expect you to do 
the same, and not till then." 

The enemy had five and thirty days' start, but he calculated 
that he should gain eight or ten days upon them by his exer- 
tions. May 15th he made Madeira, and on June 4th reached 
Barbadoes, whither he had sent dispatches before him, and 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1 9/ 

where he found Admiral Cochrane, with two ships, part of our 
squadron in those seas being at Jamaica. He found here also 
accounts that the combined fleets had been seen from St. Lucia 
on the 28th, standing to the southward, and that Tobago and 
Trinidad were their objects. This Nelson doubted, but he was 
alone in his opinion, and yielded it with these foreboding words: 
" If your intelligence proves false, you lose me the French 
fleet." Sir William Myers offered to embark here with two 
thousand troops ; they were taken on board, and the next 
morning he sailed for Tobago. 

Here accident confirmed the false intelligence which had, 
whether from intention or error, misled him. A merchant at 
Tobago, in the general alarm, not knowing whether this fleet 
was friend or foe, sent out a schooner to reconnoitre, and 
acquaint him by signal. The signal which he had chosen hap- 
pened to be the very one which had been appointed by Colonel 
Shipley, of the Engineers, to signify that the enemy were at 
Trinidad; and as this was at the close of the day there was no 
opportunity of discovering the mistake. An American brig 
was met with about the same time, the master of which, with 
that propensity to deceive the English and assist the French in 
any manner which has been but too common among his country- 
men, affirmed that he had been boarded off Granada a few days 
before by the French, who were standing towards the Bocas of 
Trinidad. This fresh intelligence removed all doubts. The 
ships were cleared for action before daylight, and Nelson entered 
the Bay of Paria on the 7th, hoping and expecting to make the 
mouths of the Orinoco as famous in the annals of the British 
navy as those of the Nile. Not an enemy was there ; and it 
was discovered that accident and artifice had combined to lead 
him so far to leeward that there could have been little hope of 
fetching to windward of Granada for any other fleet. Nelson, 
however, with skill and exertions never exceeded and almost 
unexampled, bore for that island. 



198 southey's life of nelson. 

> Advices met him on the way, that the combined fleets, having 
captured the Diamond Rock, were then at Martinique, on the 
4th, and were expected to sail that night for the attack of 
Granada. On the 9th Nelson arrived off that island, and there 
learned that they had passed to leeward of Antigua the preced- 
ing day, and taken a homeward-bound convoy. Had it not 
been for false information, upon which Nelson had acted reluc- 
tantly and in opposition to his own judgment, he would have 
been off Port Royal just as they were leaving it, and the battle 
would have been fought on the spot where Rodney defeated 
De Grasse. This he remembered in his vexation ; but he had 
saved the colonies and above two hundred ships laden for 
Europe, which would else have fallen into the enemy's hands, 
and he had the satisfaction of knowing that the mere terror of 
his name had effected this, and had put to flight the allied 
enemies, whose force nearly doubled that before which they fled. 
That they were flying back to Europe, he believed ; and for 
Europe he steered in pursuit on the 13th, having disembarked 
the troops at Antigua, and taking with him the Spartiate, 
seventy-four, the only addition to the squadron with which he 
was pursuing so superior a force. Five days afterwards, the 
A77iazon brought intelligence that she had spoke a schooner 
who had seen them, on the evening of the 15th, steering to the 
north, and by computation eighty-seven leagues off. Nelson's 
diary at this time denotes his great anxiety and his perpetual 
and all-observing vigilance : "June 21, midnight. Nearly calm; 
saw three planks, which I think came from the French fleet. 
Very miserable, which is very foolish." On the 17th of July 
he came in sight of Cape St. Vincent, and steered for Gibraltar. 
"June 1 8th," his diary says, "Cape Spartel in sight, but no 
French fleet, nor any information about them. How sorrowful 
this makes me ! But I cannot help myself." The next day he 
anchored at Gibraltar, and on the 20th, says he, "I went 
on shore for the first time since June i6th, 1803 ; and from 
having my foot out of the Victory^ two years, wanting ten days." 



NELSON AGAIN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. I QQ 

Here he communicated with his old friend Collingwood, who, 
having been detached with a squadron when the disappearance 
of the combined fleets and of Nelson in their pursuit was 
known in England, had taken his station off Cadiz. He thought 
that Ireland was the enemy's ultimate object ; that they would 
now liberate the Ferrol squadron, which was blocked up by 
Sir Robert Calder, call for the Rochefort ships, and then ap- 
pear off Ushant with three or four and thirty sail, there to be 
joined by the Brest fleet. With this great force he supposed 
they would make for Ireland, the real mark and bent of all their 
operations ; and their flight to the West Indies, he thought, 
had been merely undertaken to take off Nelson's force, which 
was the great impediment to their undertaking. 

Collingwood was gifted with great political penetration. As 
yet, however, all was conjecture concerning the enemy, and 
Nelson having victualed and watered at Tetuan, stood for 
Ceuta on the 24th, still without information of their course. 
Next day intelligence arrived that the Curieux brig had seen 
them on the 19th standing to the northward. He proceeded off 
Cape St. Vincent, rather cruising for intelligence than knowing 
whither to betake himself ; and here a case occurred that, more 
than any other event in real history, resembles those whimsical 
proofs of sagacity which Voltaire, in his "Zadig," has borrowed 
from the Orientals. One of our frigates spoke an American, 
who, a little to the westward of the Azores, had fallen in with 
an armed vessel, appearing to be a dismasted privateer, deserted 
by her crew, which had been run on board by another ship, 
and had been set fire to, but the fire had gone out. A log-book 
and a few seamen's jackets were found in the cabin, and these 
were brought to Nelson. The log-book closed with these words: 
"Two large vessels in the W.N.W." ; and this led him to con- 
clude that the vessel had been an English privateer cruising off 
the Western Islands. But there was in this book a scrap of 
dirty paper filled with figures. Nelson, immediately upon see- 



200 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

ing it, observed that the figures were written by a Frenchman, 
and after studying this for awhile, said : " I can explain the 
whole. The jackets are of French manufacture and prove 
that the privateer was in possession of the enemy. She had 
been chased and taken by the two ships that were seen in the 
W. N.W. The prize-master, going on board in a hurry, forgot 
to take with him his reckoning ; there is none in the log-book, 
and the dirty paper contains her work for the number of days 
since the privateer last left Corvo, with an unaccounted-for 
run, which I take to have been the chase, in his endeavor 
to find out her situation by back-reckonings. By some mis- 
management, I conclude, she was run on board by one of the 
enemy's ships, and dismasted. Not liking delay (for I am 
satisfied that these two ships were the advanced ones of the 
French squadron), and fancying we were close at their heels, 
they set fire to the vessel, and abandoned her in a hurry. If 
this explanation be correct, I infer from it that they are gone 
more to the northward, and more to the northward I will look 
for them." 

This course accordingly he held, but still without success. 
Still persevering and still disappointed, he returned near 
enough to Cadiz to ascertain that they were not there, traversed 
the Bay of Biscay, and then, as a last hope, stood over for the 
northwest coast of Ireland, against adverse winds, till on the 
evening of the 12th of August he learned that they had not 
been heard of there. Frustrated thus in all his hopes, after a 
pursuit to which, for its extent, rapidity, and perseverance, no 
parallel can be produced, he judged it best to reinforce the 
Channel Fleet with his squadron, lest the enemy, as Colling- 
wood apprehended, should bear down upon Brest with their 
whole collected force. On the 15th he joined Admiral Corn- 
wallis off Ushant. No news had yet been obtained of the 
enemy, and on the same evening he received orders to proceed 
with the Victory and Superb to Portsmouth. 



CHAPTER IX. 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 



AT Portsmouth Nelson at length found news of the com- 
bined fleets. Sir Robert Calder, who had been sent out 
to intercept their return, had fallen in with them, on the 2 2d of 
July, sixty leagues west of Cape Finisterre. Their force con- 
sisted of twenty sail of the line, three fifty-gun ships, five 
frigates, and two brigs ; his, of fifteen line-of-battle ships, two 
frigates, a cutter, and a lugger. After an action of four hours 
he had captured an eighty-four and a seventy-four, and then 
thought it necessary to bring-to the squadron for the purpose 
of securing their prizes. The hostile fleets remained in sight 
of each other till the 26th, when the enemy bore away. The 
capture of two ships from so superior a force would have been 
considered as no inconsiderable victory a few years earlier, but 
Nelson had introduced a new era in our naval history, and the 
nation felt respecting this action as he had felt on a somewhat 
similar occasion. They regretted that Nelson, with his eleven 
ships, had not been in Sir Robert Calder's place, and their dis- 
appointment was generally and loudly expressed. 

Frustrated as his own hopes had been. Nelson had yet the 
high satisfaction of knowing that his judgment had never 
been more conspicuously approved, and that he had rendered 
essential service to his country by driving the enemy from 
those islands where they expected there could be no force 
capable of opposing them. The West India merchants in 
London, as men whose interests were more immediately bene- 
fited, appointed a deputation to express their thanks for his 
great and judicious exertions. It was now his intention to 
rest awhile from his labors, and recruit himself, after all his 



202 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

fatigues and cares, in the society of those whom he loved. All 
his stores were brought up from the Victory, and he found in 
his house at Merton the enjoyment which he had anticipated. 
Many days had not elapsed before Captain Blackwood, on his 
way to London with dispatches, called on him at five in the 
morning. Nelson, who was already dressed, exclaimed, the 
moment he saw him: "I am sure you bring me news of the 
French and Spanish fleets ! I think I shall yet have to beat 
them!" 

They had refitted at Vigo, after the indecisive action with 
Sir Robert Calder; then proceeded to Ferrol, brought out the 
squadron from thence, and with it entered Cadiz in safety. 
" Depend upon it, Blackwood," he repeatedly said, " I shall 
yet give M. Villeneuve a drubbing." But when Blackwood 
had left him he wanted resolution to declare his wishes to 
Lady Hamilton and his sisters, and endeavored to drive away 
the thought. He had done enough, he said ; " let the man 
trudge it who has lost his budget ! " His countenance belied 
his lips ; and as he was pacing one of the walks in the garden, 
which he used to call the quarter-deck. Lady Hamilton came 
up to him and told him she saw he was uneasy. He smiled, 
and said: ''No, he was as happy as possible; he was sur- 
rounded by his family, his health was better since he had been 
on shore, and he would not give sixpence to call the King his 
uncle." 

She replied that she did not believe him, that she knew he 
was longing to get at the combined fleets, that he considered 
them as his own property, that he would be miserable if any 
man but himself did the business, and that he ought to have 
them as the price and reward of his two years long watching 
and his hard chase. "Nelson," said she, "however we may 
lament your absence, offer your services ; they will be accepted, 
and you will gain a quiet heart by it ; you will have a glorious 
victory, and then you may return here and be happy." H'^ 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 2O3 

looked at her with tears in his eyes : " Brave Emma ! Good 
Emma ! If there were more Emmas, there would be more 
Nelsons." ^ 

His services were as willingly accepted as they were offered, 
and Lord Barham, giving him the list of the navy, desired him 
to choose his own officers. " Choose yourself, my lord," was 
his reply ; " the same spirit actuates the whole profession ; you 
cannot chose wrong." Lord Barham then desired him to say 
what ships and how many he would wish, in addition to the 
fleet which he was going to command, and said they should 
follow him as soon as each was ready. No appointment was 
ever more in unison with the feelings and judgment of the 
whole nation. They, like Lady Hamilton, thought that the 
destruction of the combined fleets ought properly to be Nelson's 
work ; that he who had been 

" Half around the sea-girt ball 
The hunter of the recreant Gaul," 2 

ought to reap the spoils of the chase, which he had watched so 
long and so perseveringly pursued. 

Unremitting exertions were made to equip the ships which 
he had chosen, and especially to refit the Victory^ which was 
once more to bear his flag. Before he left London he called at 
his upholsterer's, where the coffin which Captain Hallowell had 
given him was deposited, and desired that its history might be 
engraven upon the lid, saying, it was highly probable he might 
want it on his return. He seemed, indeed, to have been 
impressed with an expectation that he should fall in the battle. 

1 " One of the many lies with a purpose which Lady Hamilton put in 
circulation in order to strengthen the claims which she fancied she had on 
the government. Southey, ignorantly or inconsiderately, gave it currency 
which it could not otherwise have had, and it has thus been very commonly 
received as absolute fact. It is, on the contrary, absolute falsehood." — 
Laughton's Nelson {English Men of Action). 
.>?• Songs of Trafalgar, J. W. Croker. 



204 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

In a letter to his brother, written immediately after his return, 
he had said : " We must not talk of Sir Robert Calder's battle. 
I might not have done so much with my small force. If I had 
fallen in with them, you might probably have been a lord 
before I wished, for I know they meant to make a dead set at 
the Victory r 

Nelson had once regarded the prospect of death with gloomy 
satisfaction. The state of his feelings now was expressed in 
his private journal in these words : " Friday night (Sept. 13th), 
at half-past ten, I drove from dear, dear Merton, where I left 
all which I hold dear in this world, to go to serve my King and 
country. May the great God whom I adore enable me to fulfil 
the expectations of my country ! And if it is His good pleasure 
that I should return, my thanks will never cease being offered 
up to the throne of His mercy. If it is His good providence to 
cut short my days upon earth, I bow with the greatest sub- 
mission ; relying that He will protect those so dear to me whom 
I may leave behind ! His will be done. Amen ! Amen ! 
Amen ! " 

Early on the following morning he reached Portsmouth, and 
having dispatched his business on shore, endeavored to elude 
the populace by taking a by-way to the beach, but a crowd 
collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain sight of his 
face ; many were in tears, and many knelt down before him, 
and blessed him as they passed. England has had many 
heroes, but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his 
fellow-countrymen as Nelson. All men knew that his heart 
was as humane as it was fearless ; that there was not in his 
nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity, but that 
with perfect and entire devotion he served his country with all 
his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength ; and 
therefore they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved 
England. They pressed upon the parapet to gaze after him 
when his barge pushed off, and he was returning their cheers 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 205 

by waving his hat. The sentinels, who endeavored to prevent 
them from trespassing upon this ground, were wedged among 
the crowd, and an officer, who, not very prudently upon such 
an occasion, ordered them to drive the people down with their 
bayonets, was compelled speedily to retreat ; for the people 
would not be debarred from gazing till the last moment upon 
the hero — the darling hero — of England. 

He arrived off Cadiz on the 29th of September — his birth- 
day. Fearing that, if the enemy knew his force, they might 
be deterred from venturing to sea, he kept out of sight of land, 
desired Collingwood to fire no salute and hoist no colors, and 
wrote to Gibraltar to request that the force of the fleet might 
not be inserted there in the " Gazette." 

His reception in the Mediterranean fleet was as gratifying 
as the farewell of his countrymen at Portsmouth ; the officers 
who came on board to welcome him, forgot his rank as com- 
mander in their joy at seeing him again. On the day of his 
arrival Villeneuve received orders to put to sea the first oppor- 
tunity. Villeneuve, however, hesitated when he heard that 
Nelson had resumed the command. He called a council of 
war, and their determination was that it would not be expe- 
dient to leave Cadiz unless they had reason to believe them- 
selves stronger by one-third than the British force. In the 
public measures of this country secrecy is seldom practicable 
and seldom attempted; here, however, by the precautions of 
Nelson and the wise measures of the Admiralty, the enemy 
were for once kept in ignorance ; for, as the ships appointed to 
reinforce the Mediterranean fleet were dispatched singly, each 
as soon as it was ready, their collected number was not stated 
in the newspapers, and their arrival was not known to the 
enemy. But the enemy knew that Admiral Louis, with six 
sail, had been detached for stores and water to Gibraltar. 
Accident also contributed to make the French admiral doubt 
whether Nelson himself had actually taken the command. An 



2o6 southey's life of nelson. 

American, lately arrived from England, maintained that it was 
impossible, for he had seen him only a few days before in Lon- 
don, and at that time there was no rumor of his going again to 
sea. 

The station which Nelson had chosen was some fifty or sixty 
miles to the west of Cadiz, near Cape St. Mary's. At this 
distance he hoped to decoy the enemy out, while he guarded 
against the danger of being caught with a westerly wind near 
Cadiz, and driven within the Straits. The blockade of the 
port was rigorously enforced, in hopes that the combined fleet 
might be forced to sea by want. The Danish vessels, therefore, 
which were carrying provisions from the French ports in the 
bay, under the name of Danish property, to all the little ports 
from Ayamonte to Algeziras, from whence they were conveyed 
in coasting boats to Cadiz, were seized. Without this proper 
exertion of power the blockade would have been rendered 
nugatory by the advantage thus taken of the neutral flag. The 
supplies from France were thus effectually cut off. There was 
now every indication that the enemy would speedily venture 
out ; officers and men were in the highest spirits at the prospect 
of giving them a decisive blow — such, indeed, as would put an 
end to all further contest upon the seas. 

Theatrical amusements were performed every evening in 
most of the ships, and '' God save the King " was the hymn 
with' which the sports concluded. " I verily believe," said 
Nelson, writing on the 6th of October, " that the country will 
soon be put to some expense on my account, either a monu- 
ment or a new pension and honors ; for I have not the smallest 
doubt but that a very few days, almost hours, will put us in 
battle. The success no man can insure, but for the fighting 
them, if they can be got at, I pledge myself. The sooner the 
better ; I don't like to have these things upon my mind." 

At this time he was not without some cause of anxiety ; he 
was in want of frigates, — the eyes of the fleet, as he always 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 20/ 

called them, — to the want of which the enemy before were 
indebted for their escape, and Bonaparte for his arrival in 
Egypt. He had only twenty-three ships ; others were on the 
way, but they might come too late ; and though Nelson never 
doubted of victory, mere victory was not what he looked to ; 
he wanted to annihilate the enemy's fleet. The Carthagena 
squadron might effect a junction with this fleet on the one 
side, and on the other it was to be expected that a similar 
attempt would be made by the French from Brest ; in either 
case a formidable contingency to be apprehended by the 
blockading force. The Rochefort squadron did push out, and 
had nearly caught the Aga^nemnon and U Aimable in their way 
to reinforce the British admiral. Yet Nelson at this time 
weakened his own fleet. He had the unpleasant task to per- 
form of sending home Sir Robert Calder, whose conduct was 
to be made the subject of a court-martial in consequence of the 
general dissatisfaction which had been felt and expressed at 
his imperfect victory. 

Sir Robert Calder and Sir John Orde, Nelson believed to be 
the only two enemies whom he had ever had in his profession ; 
and, from that sensitive delicacy which distinguished him, this 
made him the more scrupulously anxious to show every possi- 
ble mark of respect and kindness to Sir Robert. He wished 
to detain him till after the expected action, when the services 
which he might perform, and the triumphant joy which would 
be excited, would lead nothing to be apprehended from an 
inquiry into the previous engagement. Sir Robert, however, 
whose situation was very painful, did not choose to delay a 
trial from the result of which he confidently expected a com- 
plete justification ; and Nelson, instead of sending him home 
in a frigate, insisted on his returning in his own ninety-gun ship, 
ill as such a ship could at that time be spared. Nothing could 
be more honorable than the feeling by which Nelson was influ- 
enced, but at such a crisis it ou^-ht not to have been indulged. 



2o8 southey's life of nelson. 

On the 9th Nelson sent Collingwood what he called in his 
diary " the Nelson-touch." " I send you," said he, " my plan 
of attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the very 
uncertain position the enemy may be found in ; but it is to 
place you perfectly at ease respecting my intentions, and to 
give full scope to your judgment for carrying them into effect. 
We can, my dear Coll, have no little jealousies. We have only 
one great object in view, that of annihilating our enemies, and 
getting a glorious peace for our country. No man has more 
confidence in another than I have in you, and no man will 
render your services more justice than your very old friend, 
Nelson and Bronte." 

The order of sailing was to be the order of battle — the fleet 
in two lines, with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest 
sailing two-deckers. The second in command, having the 
entire direction of his line, was to break through the enemy, 
about the twelfth ship from their rear ; he would lead through 
the center, and the advanced squadron was to cut off three or 
four ahead of the center. This plan was to be adapted to the 
strength of the enemy, so that they should always be one-fourth 
superior to those whom they cut off. Nelson said that " his 
admirals and captains, knowing his precise object to be that of 
a close and decisive action, would supply any deficiency of 
signals and act accordingly. In case signals cannot be seen 
or clearly understood, no captain can do wrong if he places his 
ship alongside that of an enemy." One of the last orders of 
this admirable man was that the name and family of every 
officer, seaman, and marine, who might be killed or wounded 
in action, should be as soon as possible returned to him, in 
order to be transmitted to the chairman of the patriotic fund, 
that the case might be taken into consideration for the benefit 
of the sufferer or his family. 

About half -past nine in the morning of the 19th the Mars, 
being the nearest to the fleet of the ships which formed the 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 2O9 

line of communication with the frigates inshore, repeated the 
signal that the enemy were coming out of port. The wind was 
at this time very light, with partial breezes, mostly from the 
S.S.W. Nelson ordered the signal to be made for a chase 
in the southeast quarter. About two, the repeating ships 
announced that the enemy were at sea. All night the British 
fleet continued under all sail, steering to the southeast. At 
daybreak they were in the entrance of the Straits, but the 
enemy were not in sight. About seven, one of the frigates 
made signal that the enemy were bearing north. Upon this 
the Victory hove to, and shortly afterwards Nelson made sail 
again to the northward. In the afternoon the wind blew fresh 
from the southwest, and the English began to fear that the foe 
might be forced to return to port. 

A little before sunset, however, Blackwood, in the Euryalus, 
telegraphed that they appeared determined to go to the west- 
ward. " And that," said the admiral in his diary, " they shall 
not do, if it is in the power of Nelson and Bronte to prevent 
them." Nelson had signified to Blackwood that he depended 
upon him to keep sight of the enemy. They were observed so 
well that all their motions were made known to him, and as 
they wore twice, he inferred that they were aiming to keep the 
port of Cadiz open, and would retreat there as soon as they 
saw the British fleet ; for this reason he was very careful not to 
approach near enough to be seen by them during the night. 
At daybreak the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the 
Victory s deck, formed in a close line-of-battle ahead, on the 
starboard tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to 
the south. Our fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line 
and four frigates ; theirs of thirty-three and seven large frigates. 
Their superiority was greater in size and weight of metal than 
in numbers. They had four thousand troops on board, and the 
best riflemen that could be procured, many of them Tyrolese, 
were dispersed through the ships. Little did the Tyrolese and 



2IO SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

little did the Spaniards at that day imagine what horrors the 
wicked tyrant whom they served was preparing for their 
country. 

Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck. The 21st of 
October was a festival in his family, because on that day his 
uncle, Captain Suckling, in the Dreadnought^ with two other 
line-of-battle ships, had beaten off a French squadron of four 
sail of the line and three frigates. Nelson, with that sort of 
superstition from which few persons are entirely- exempt, had 
more than once expressed his persuasion that this was to be 
the day of his battle also, and he was well pleased at seeing his 
prediction about to be verified. The wind was now from the 
west, — light breezes, with a long heavy swell. Signal was 
made to bear down upon the enemy in two lines, and the fleet 
set all sail. Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led the lee 
line of thirteen ships ; the Victory led the weather line of four- 
teen. Having seen that all was as it should be, Nelson retired 
to his cabin and wrote the following prayer : ^ 

" May the great God whom I worship grant to my country, 
and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious 
victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it, and may 
humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the 
British fleet ! For myself individually, I commit my life to 
Him that made me, and may His blessing alight on my endeav- 
ors- for serving my country faithfully ! To Him I resign myself, 

^ Wrote the following prayer. — About eleven a.m. of the 21st of 
October, Lieutenant Pasco had to make a report to Lord Nelson, and 
intended at the same time to have represented to him that he considered 
himself very unfortunate, on so glorious an occasion, to be doing duty in 
an inferior station, instead of that to which his seniority entitled him. " On 
entering the cabin," says Captain Pasco, " I discovered his lordship on his 
knees writing. He was then penning that beautiful prayer. I waited until 
he rose, and communicated what I had to report, but could not at such a 
moment disturb his mind with any grievances of mine." — Nelson's Dis- 
^atches, vii. 140. 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 2 I I 

and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen, 
.Amen, Amen." 

Having thus discharged his devotional duties, he annexed, 
in the same diary, the following remarkable writing : 

" October 21^ 180^. — Then i7i sight of the combined fleets of 
France and Spain, distant about ten miles. 

" Whereas, the eminent services of Emma Hamilton, widow 
of the Right Honorable Sir William Hamilton, have been of the 
very greatest service to my King and my country, to my knowl- 
edge, without ever receiving any reward from either our King 
or country : 

" First, that she obtained the King of Spain's letter, in T796, 
to his brother, the King of Naples, acquainting him of his 
intention to declare war against England ; from which letter 
the Ministry sent out orders to the then Sir John Jervis to 
strike a stroke, if opportunity offered, against either the 
arsenals of Spain or her fleets. That neither of these was 
done is not the fault of Lady Hamilton ; the opportunity might 
have been offered. 

" Secondly, the British fleet under my command could never 
have returned the second time to Egypt had not Lady Hamilton's 
influence with the Queen of Naples caused letters to be wrote 
to the governor of Syracuse, that he was to encourage the 
fleet's being supplied with everything, should they put into any 
port in Sicily. We put into Syracuse, and received every 
supply, went to Egypt, and destroyed the French fleet. 

" Could I have rewarded these services, I would not now 
call upon my country ; but as that has not been in my power, 
I leave Emma Lady Hamilton therefore a legacy to my King 
and country, that tliey will give her an ample provision to 
maintain her rank in life. 

- " These are the only favors I ask of my King and country 
at this moment when I am going to fight their battle. May 



212 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

God bless my King and country, and all those I hold dear ! 
My relations it is needless to mention ; they will, of course, be 
amply provided for. 

" Nelson and Bronte. 

- „ „,. ( Henry Blackwood, 

"Witness \ ^ ^^ ^^ „ ' 

( T. M. Hardy." 

Blackwood went on board the Victory about six. He found 
him in good spirits, but very calm, not in that exhilaration which 
he felt upon entering into battle at Aboukir and Copenhagen ; 
he knew that his own life would be particularly aimed at, and 
seems to have looked for death with almost as sure an expecta- 
tion as for victory. His whole attention was fixed upon the 
enemy. They tacked to the northward, and formed their line 
on the larboard tack ; thus bringing the shoals of Trafalgar and 
St. Pedro under the lee of the British, and keeping the port of 
Cadiz open for themselves. This was judiciously done; and 
Nelson, aware of all the advantages which he gave them, made 
signal to prepare to anchor. 

Villeneuve was a skilful seaman, worthy of serving a better 
master and a better cause. His plan of defense was as well 
conceived and as original as the plan of attack. He formed 
the fleet in a double line, every alternate ship being about 
a cable's length to windward of her second ahead and astern. 
Nelson, certain of a triumphant issue to the day, asked Black- 
wood what he should consider as a victory. That officer 
answered, that, considering the handsome way in which battle 
was offered by the enemy, their apparent determination for a 
fair trial of strength, and the situation of the land, he thought 
it would be a glorious result if fourteen were captured. He 
replied : " I shall not be satisfied with less than twenty." 
Soon afterwards he asked him if he did not think there was a 
signal wanting. Captain Blackwood made answer that he 
thought the whole fleet seemed very clearly to understand what 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 21 3 

they were about. These words were scarcely spoken before 
that signal was made which will be remembered as long as the 
language or even the memory of England shall endure, — 
Nelson's last signal : " England expects every man will do 
HIS DUTY ! " It was received throughout the fleet with a shout 
of answering acclamation, made sublime by the spirit which it 
breathed and the feeling which it expressed. " Now," said 
Lord Nelson, " I can do no more. We must trust to the great 
Disposer of all events and the justice of our cause. I thank 
God for this great opportunity of doing my duty." 

He wore that day, as usual, his admiral's frock-coat, bearing 
on the left breast four stars of the different orders with which 
he was invested.-^ Ornaments which rendered him so conspicu- 
ous a mark for the enemy were beheld with ominous apprehen- 
sion by his officers. It was known that there were riflemen on 
board the French ships, and it could not be doubted but that 
his life would be particularly aimed at. They communicated 
their fears to each other, and the surgeon, Mr. Beatty,^ spoke 
to the chaplain, Dr. Scott, and to Mr. Scott, the public secretary, 
desiring that some person would entreat him to change his 
dress or cover the stars ; but they knew that such a request 
would highly displease him. " In honor I gained them," he 

1 The stars of the different orders were the Order of the Bath, of the 
Sicilian Order of St. Ferdinand and Merit, of the Turkish Order of the 
Crescent, and of the Order of St. Joachim, conferred by the Emperor Paul 
as Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, which, according to the custom 
of the time, were embroidered on his coat. It has been claimed that 
Nelson put on a special coat for the battle, and that he put on all his 
decorations specially for the occasion. But it is clear from the testimony 
of eye-witnesses as stated in Nicolas's "Letters " that he wore in the battle 
the same coat that he always wore, to which the embroidered stars were 
permanently attached. This coat may be seen in Greenwich Hospital. 

2 Nelson's surgeon in the Victory, afterwards Sir William Beatty. He 
wrote an " Authentic Narrative " of Nelson's death, and kept the fatal 
bullet, which was afterward presented to the Queen, and is now at Windsor 
Castle. 



214 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

had said when such a thing had been hinted to him formerly, 
''and in honor I will die with them." Mr. Beatty, however, 
would not have been deterred by any fear of exciting his 
displeasure from speaking to him himself upon a subject in 
which the weal of England, as well as the life of Nelson, 
was concerned ; but he was ordered from the deck before he 
could find an opportunity. This was a point upon which 
Nelson's officers knew that it was hopeless to remonstrate or 
reason with him ; but both Blackwood and his own captain. 
Hardy, represented to him how advantageous to the fleet it 
would be for him to keep out of action as long as possible, and 
he consented at last to let the Leviathan and the Temeraire, 
which were sailing abreast of the Victory^ be ordered to pass 
ahead. 

Yet even here the last infirmity of this noble mind was 
indulged, for these ships could not pass ahead if the Victory 
continued to carry all her sail ; and so far was Nelson from 
shortening sail, that it was evident he took pleasure in pressing 
on, and rendering it impossible for them to obey his own orders. 
A long swell was setting into the Bay of Cadiz. Our ships, 
crowding all sail, moved majestically before it, with light winds 
from the southwest. The sun shone on the sails of the 
enemy, and their well-formed line, with their numerous three- 
deckers, made an appearance which any other assailants would 
have 'thought formidable, but the British sailors only admired 
the beauty and the splendor of the spectacle, and in full 
confidence of winning what they saw, remarked to each other 
what a fine sight yonder ships would make at Spithead ! 

The French admiral, from the Bucentaure, beheld the new 
manner in which his enemy was advancing, — Nelson and 
Collingwood each leading his line ; and pointing them out to 
his officers, he is said to have exclaimed that such conduct 
could not fail to be successful. Yet Villeneuve had made his 
own dispositions with the utmost skill, and the fleets under his 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 215 

command waited for the attack with perfect coolness. Ten 
minutes before twelve they opened their fire. Eight or nine 
of the ships immediately ahead of the Victory^ and across her 
bows, fired single guns at her to ascertain whether she was yet 
within their range. As soon as Nelson perceived that their 
shot passed over him, he desired Blackwood and Captain 
Prowse, of the Si?^ius, to repair to their respective frigates, and 
on their way to tell all the captains of the line-of-battle ships 
that he depended on their exertions, and that, if by the 
prescribed mode of attack they found it impracticable to get 
into action immediately, they might adopt whatever they 
thought best, provided it led them quickly and closely along- 
side an enemy. As they were standing on the front poop, 
Blackwood took him by the hand, saying he hoped soon to 
return and find him in possession of twenty prizes. He replied, 
" God bless you, Blackwood ; I shall never see you again." 

Nelson's column was steered about two points more to the 
north than Collingwood's, in order to cut off the enemy's 
escape into Cadiz. The lee line, therefore, was first engaged. 
" See," cried Nelson, pointing to the Royal Sovereign, as she 
steered right for the center of the enemy's line, cut through it 
astern of the Santa Anna, three-decker, and engaged her at the 
muzzle of her guns on the starboard side ; " see how that noble 
fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action ! " Collingwood, 
delighted at being first in the heat of the fire, and knowing the 
feelings of his commander and old friend, turned to his captain 
and exclaimed : " Rotherham, what would Nelson give to be 
here ! " Both these brave officers, perhaps, at this moment 
thought of Nelson with gratitude for a circumstance which had 
occurred on the preceding day. Admiral Collingwood, with 
some of the captains, having gone on board the Victory to 
receive instructions. Nelson inquired of him where his captain 
was, and was told in reply that they were not upon good terms 
with each other. " Terms ! " said Nelson ; " good terms with 



2i6 southey's life of nelson. 

each other ! " Immediately he sent a boat for Captain Rother- 
ham, led him, as soon as he arrived, to Collingwood, and 
saying, " Look, yonder are the enemy ! " bade them shake 
hands like Englishmen. 

The enemy continued to fire a gun at a time at the Victory^ 
till they saw that a shot had passed through her main-topgallant 
sail ; then they opened her broadsides, aiming chiefly at her 
rigging, in the hope of disabling her before she could close 
with them. Nelson as usual had hoisted several flags, lest one 
should be shot away. The enemy showed no colors till late 
in the action, when they began to feel the necessity of having 
them to strike. For this reason the Santissima Trinidad, 
Nelson's old acquaintance, as he used to call her, was dis- 
tinguishable only by her four decks, and to the bow of this 
opponent he ordered the Victory to be steered. Meantime an 
incessant raking fire was kept up upon the Victory. The 
admiral's secretary was one of the first who fell ; he was killed 
by a cannon shot while conversing with Hardy. Captain 
Adair, of the marines, with the help of a sailor, endeavored to 
remove the body from Nelson's sight, who had a great regard 
for Mr. Scott; but he anxiously asked, " Is that poor Scott that 's 
gone ? " and being informed that it was indeed so, exclaimed, 
" Poor fellow ! " 

Presently a double-headed shot struck a party of marines 
who -were drawn up on the poop, and killed eight of them, upon 
which Nelson immediately desired Captain Adair to disperse 
his men around the ship, that they might not suffer so much 
from being together. A few minutes afterwards a shot struck 
the fore-brace bits on the quarter-deck, and passed between 
Nelson and Hardy, a splinter from the bit tearing off Hardy's 
buckle and bruising his foot. Both stopped, and looked 
anxiously at each other ; each supposed the other to be 
wounded. Nelson then smiled, and said : " This is too warm 
work. Hardy, to last long." 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 21/ 

The Victory had not yet returned a single gun ; fifty of her 
men had been by this time killed or wounded, and her main- 
topmast, with all her studding sails and their booms, shot 
away. Nelson declared that in all his battles he had seen 
nothing which surpassed the cool courage of his crew on this 
occasion. At four minutes after twelve she opened her fire 
from both sides of her deck. It was not possible to break the 
enemy's lines without running on board one of their ships ; 
Hardy informed him of this, and asked him which he would 
prefer. Nelson replied : " Take your choice, Hardy ; it does 
not signify much." The master was ordered to put the helm 
to port, and the Victory ran on board the Redoubtable just as 
her tiller-ropes were shot away. The French ship received her 
with a broadside, then instantly let down her lower deck ports 
for fear of being boarded through them, and never afterwards 
fired a great gun during the action. Her tops, like those of all 
the enemy's ships, were filled with riflemen. Nelson never 
placed musketry in his tops ; he had a strong dislike to the 
practice, not merely because it endangers setting fire to the 
sails, but also because it is a murderous sort of warfare, by 
which individuals may suffer and a commander now and then 
picked off, but which can never decide the fate of a general 
engagement. 

Captain Harvey, in the Temeraii^e, fell on board the Redoubt- 
able on the other side ; another enemy was in like manner on 
board the T^emeraire ; so that these four ships formed as com- 
pact a tier as if they had been moored together, their heads all 
lying the same way. The lieutenants of the Victory seeing this, 
depressed their guns of the middle and lower decks, and fired 
with a diminished charge, lest the shot should pass through and 
injure the Temeraire ; and because there was danger that the 
Redoubtable might take fire from the lower deck guns, the 
muzzles of which touched her side when they were run out, 
the fireman of each gun stood ready with a bucket of water. 



2i8 southey's life of nelson. 

which, as soon as the gun was discharged, he dashed into the 
hole made by the shot. An incessant fire was kept up from 
the Victory from both sides, her larboard guns playing upon 
the Biicentaure and the huge Santissima Trinidad. 

It had been part of Nelson's prayer that the British fleet 
might be distinguished by humanity in the victory he expected. 
Setting an example himself, he twice gave orders to cease firing 
upon the Redoubtable^ supposing that she had struck, because 
her great guns were silent; for, as she carried no flag, there was 
no means of instantly ascertaining the fact. From this ship, 
which he had thus twice spared, he received his death. A ball 
fired from her mizzen-top, which in the then situation of the two 
vessels was not more than fifteen yards from that part of the 
deck where he was standing, struck the epaulette on his left 
shoulder, about a quarter after one, just in the heat of action. 
He fell upon his face, on the spot which was covered with his 
poor- secretary's blood. Hardy, who was a few steps from him, 
turning round, saw three men raising him up. " They have 
done for me at last. Hardy ! " said he. " I hope not ! " cried 
Hardy. " Yes," he replied, "" my back-bone is shot through ! " 

Yet even now, not for a moment losing his presence of 
mind, he observed as they were carrying him down the ladder 
that the tiller-ropes, which had been shot away, were not yet 
replaced, and ordered that new ones should be rove immediately. 
Then, that he might not be seen by the crew, he took out his 
handkerchief and covered his face and his stars. Had he but 
concealed these badges of honor from the enemy, England 
perhaps would not have had cause to receive with sorrow the 
news of the battle of Trafalgar. The cockpit was crowded 
with wounded and dying men, over whose bodies he was with 
some difficulty conveyed, and laid upon a pallet in the midship- 
men's berth. It was soon perceived, upon examination, that 
the wound was mortal. This, however, was concealed from all 
except Captain Hardy, the chaplain, and the medical attendants. 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 219 

He himself being certain, from the sensation in his back and 
the gush of blood he felt momently within his breast, that no 
human care could avail him, insisted that the surgeon should 
leave him, and attend to those to whom he might be useful, 
" for," said he, " you can do nothing for me." 

All that could be done was to fan him with paper, and 
frequently give him lemonade to alleviate his intense thirst. 
He was in great pain, and expressed much anxiety for the 
event of the action, which now began to declare itself. As 
often as a ship struck, the crew of the Victory hurrahed, and at 
every hurrah a visible expression of joy gleamed in his eyes and 
marked the countenance of the dying hero. But he became 
impatient to see Captain Hardy ; and as that officer, though 
often sent for, could not leave the deck. Nelson feared that 
some fatal cause prevented him, and repeatedly cried, " Will 
no one bring Hardy to me .'* He must be killed ! He is surely 
dead ! " 

An hour and ten minutes elapsed from the time when 
Nelson received his wound before Hardy could come to him. 
They shook hands in silence ; Hardy in vain struggling to 
express the feelings of that most painful and yet sublimest 
moment. "Well, Hardy," said Nelson, "how goes the day 
with us?" — "Very well," replied Hardy; "ten ships have 
struck, but five of the van have tacked, and show an intention 
to bear down upon the Victory. I have called two or three of 
our fresh ships round, and have no doubt of giving them a 
drubbing." — " I hope," said Nelson, "none of our ships have 
struck ? " Hardy answered, " There was no fear of that." 
Then, and not till then, Nelson spoke of himself. " I am a 
dead man. Hardy," said he ; "I am going fast ; it will be all 
over with me soon. Come nearer to me." Hardy observed 
that he hoped Mr. Beatty could yet hold out some prospect of 
life. " Oh no ! " he replied, " it is impossible ; my back is shot 
through. Beatty will tell you so." Captain Hardy then once 



220 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

more shook hands with him, and with a heart almost bursting 
hastened upon deck. 

By this time all feeling below the breast was gone ; and 
Nelson, having made the surgeon ascertain this, said to him : 
" You know I am gone. I know it. I feel something rising 
in my breast" — putting his hand on his left side — "which 
tells me so." And upon Beatty's inquiring whether his pain 
was very great, he replied, " So great that he wished he was 
dead. Yet," said he in a lower voice, "one would like to live 
a little longer, too ! " Captain Hardy, some fifty minutes 
after he had left the cockpit, returned, and again taking the 
hand of his dying friend and commander, congratulated him 
on having gained a complete victory. How many of the 
enemy were taken he did not know, as it was impossible 
to perceive them distinctly ; but fourteen or fifteen at 
least. " That 's well ! " cried Nelson ; " but I bargained 
for twenty." And then in a stronger voice he said : 
" Anchor, Hardy, anchor." Hardy upon this hinted that 
Admiral Collingwood would take upon himself the direction 
of affairs. " Not while I live, Hardy," said the dying Nelson, 
ineffectually endeavoring to raise himself from the bed ; " do 
you anchor." 

His previous order for preparing to anchor had shown how 
clearly he foresaw the necessity of this. Presently calling 
Hardy back, he said to him in a low voice: "Don't throw me 
overboard;" and he desired that he might be buried by his 
parents, unless it should please the King to order otherwise. 
Then turning to Hardy: "Kiss me. Hardy," said he. Hardy 
knelt down and kissed his cheek, and Nelson said: "Now I 
am satisfied. Thank God, I have done my duty ! " Hardy 
stood over him in silence for a moment or two, then knelt 
again and kissed his forehead. " Who is that ? " said Nelson; 
and being informed, he replied: " God bless you, Hardy." And 
Hardy then left him forever. 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 221 

Nelson now desired to be turned upon his right side, and 
said: " I wish I had not left the deck, for I shall soon be 
gone." Death was indeed rapidly approaching. He said to 
the chaplain: "Doctor, I have not been 2. great sinner." His 
articulation now became difficult, but he was distinctly heard 
to say : " Thank God, I have done my duty ! " These words 
he repeatedly pronounced, and they were the last words that 
he uttered. He expired at thirty minutes after four, three 
hours and a quarter after he had received his wound.^ 

Within a quarter of an hour after Nelson was wounded 
about fifty of the Victory s men fell by the enemy's musketry. 
They, however, on their part were not idle; and it was not long 
before there v^^ere only two Frenchmen left alive in the mizzen- 
top of the Redoubtable. One of them was the man who had 
given the fatal wound, — he did not live to boast of what he 
had done. An old quartermaster had seen him fire, and easily 
recognized him because he wore a glazed cocked hat and a 

^ "It is eighty-four years since Nelson died; yet still his name is the 
one of all earthly names to work most magically in the thoughts of Eng- 
lishmen. His example as a strategist is of no use now ; it would be the 
idlest waste of time to enter, in this iron-enamored age, into a discourse 
upon his proceedings. It can profit us nothing, in a material sense, to 
know that his great theory of warfare consisted in swiftness of resolution, 
in dashing at the enemy, in getting alongside of him, as close as channels 
or yard-arms would permit, and in firing until he struck or was annihilated. 
There are no longer channels ; there are no longer yard-arms ; lines ahead 
may be formed, but if they are to be broken no hints of the manoeuvres to 
be employed are likely to be found in the most voluminous and minute 
accounts of the Nelson victories. But if his genius as an admiral of the 
days of tacks and sheets can no longer be serviceable in suggestion to 
posterity whose hopes are lodged in steel plates of twenty inches in thick- 
ness, in engines of ten thousand horse-power, in ordnance big enough to 
berth the crew of a brig of Nelson's day, his example as an English sailor 
must, whilst there remains a British keel afloat, be as potent in all seafaring 
aspirations and resolutions as ever it was at any moment in his devoted 
and glorious life." — W. Clark Russell's Life of Nelson. 



222 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

white frock. This quartermaster and two midshipmen, Mr. 
Collingwood and Mr. Pollard, were the only persons left in the 
Victory's poop; the two midshipmen kept firing at the top, and 
he supplied them with cartridges. One of the Frenchmen, 
attempting to make his escape down the rigging, was shot by 
Mr. Pollard, and fell on the poop. But the old quartermaster, 
as he cried out, *' That 's he, that 's he ! " and pointed at the 
other, who was coming forward to fire again, received a shot 
in his mouth and fell dead. Both the midshipmen then fired 
at the same time, and the fellow dropped in the top. When 
they took possession of the prize they went into the mizzen-top 
and found him dead, with one ball through his head and 
another through his breast.-^ 

The Redoicbtable struck within twenty minutes after the fatal 
shot had been fired from her. During that time she had been 
twice on fire, — in her forechains and in her forecastle. The 
French, as they had done in other battles, made use in this of 
fireballs and other combustibles : implements of destruction 
which other nations, from a sense of honor and humanity, 

1 There is some reason to think that the man who fired the fatal shot at 
Nelson did live to tell the story and that his name was Robert Guillemard. 
He claimed that he was stationed in the rigging of the Redoubtable, and 
busied himself in picking off the men on the Victory. He says in his 
Memoirs : " In the stern of the Victory stood an officer covered with 
decorations, who had only one arm. From what I had heard of Nelson, 
I had no doubt that it was he. As I had received no command to come 
down out of the rigging, and found myself forgotten in the top, I deemed 
it my duty to fire into the stern of the English ship, which I saw unpro- 
tected and quite near. I might have aimed at particular individuals, but 
I preferred to fire into the separate groups which surrounded the different 
officers. All at once I perceived a great commotion on board the Victory. 
The people crowded around the officer in whom I believed I had recog- 
nized Lord Nelson. He had fallen to the deck, and they carried him away 
at once, covered with a mantle. The excitement among the Victory^s crew 
confirmed me in the belief that I had not been deceived, and it was indeed 
the English admiral. A moment later the Victory ceased firing." 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 223 

have laid aside, which add to the sufferings of the wounded 
without determining the issue of the combat, which none but 
the cruel would employ, and which never can be successful 
against the brave. Once they succeeded in setting fire, from 
the Redoubtable^ to some ropes and canvas on the Victory'' s 
booms. The cry ran through the ship and reached the cock- 
pit, but even this dreadful cry produced no confusion : the 
men displayed that perfect self-possession in danger by which 
English seamen are characterized ; they extinguished the flames 
on board their own ship, and then hastened to extinguish them 
in the enemy by throwing buckets of water from the gangway. 
When the Redoubtable had struck it was not practicable to 
board her from the Victory ; for though the two ships touched, 
the upper works of both fell in so much that there was a great 
space between their gangways, and she could not be boarded 
from the lower or middle decks because her ports were down. 
Some of our men went to Lieutenant Quilliam and offered to 
swim under her bows, and get up there, but it was thought 
unfit to hazard brave lives in this manner. 

What our men would have done from gallantry some of the 
crew of the Santissima Trinidad did to save themselves. Un- 
able to stand the tremendous fire of the Victory, whose larboard 
guns played against this great four-decker, and not knowing 
how else to escape them, nor where else to betake themselves 
for protection, many of them leapt overboard and swam to the 
Victory, and were actually helped up her sides by the English 
during the action. The Spaniards began the battle with less 
vivacity than their unworthy allies, but continued it with 
greater firmness. The Argonauta and Bahama were defended 
till they had each lost about 400 men ; the San Juan Nepomuceno 
lost 350. Often as the superiority of British courage has been 
proved against France upon the seas, it was never more con- 
spicuous than in this decisive conflict. Five, of our ships were 
engaged muzzle to muzzle with five of the French. In all five 



224 SOUTHEY S LIFE OF NELSON. 

the Frenchmen lowered their lower-deck ports and deserted 
their guns, while our men continued deliberately to load and 
fire till they had made the victory secure. 

Once, amidst his sufferings, Nelson had expressed a wish 
that he were dead ; but immediately the spirit subdued the 
pains of death, and he wished to live a little longer — doubtless 
that he might hear the completion of the victory which he had 
seen so gloriously begun. That consolation, that joy, that 
triumph was afforded him. He lived to know that the victory 
was decisive, and the last guns which were fired at the flying 
enemy were heard a minute or two before he expired. The 
ships which were thus flying were four of the enemy's van, all 
French, under Rear-admiral Dumanoir. They had borne no 
part in the action ; and now, when they were seeking safety in 
flight, they fired not only into the Victory and Royal Sovereign 
as they passed, but poured their broadsides into the Spanish 
captured ships, and they were seen to back their topsails for 
the purpose of firing with more precision. 

The indignation of the Spaniards at this detestable cruelty 
from their allies, for whom they had fought so bravely and so 
profusely bled, may well be conceived. It was such that 
when, two days after the action, seven of the ships which had 
escaped into Cadiz came out, in hopes of retaking some of the 
disabled prizes, the prisoners in the Argonauta in a body offered 
their services to the British prize-master to man the guns 
against any of the French ships ; saying, that if a Spanish 
ship came alongside they w^ould quietly go below, but they 
requested that they might be allowed to fight the French in 
resentment for the murderous usage which they had suffered 
at their hands. Such was their earnestness, and such the 
implicit confidence which could be placed in Spanish honor, 
that the offer was accepted, and they were actually stationed 
at the lower-deck guns. Dumanoir and his squadron were not 
more fortunate than the fleet from whose destruction they fled ; 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 22 5 

they fell in with Sir Richard Strachan, who was cruising for 
the Rochefort squadron, and were all taken. 

In the better days of France, if such a crime could then 
have been committed, it would have received an exemplary 
punishment from the French government ; under Bonaparte it 
was sure of impunity, and perhaps might be thought deserving 
of reward. But if the Spanish Court had been independent, it 
would have become us to have delivered Dumanoir and his 
captains up to Spain, that they might have been brought to 
trial, and hanged in sight of the remains of the Spanish fleet. 

The total British loss in the battle of Trafalgar amounted to 
1587. Twenty of the enemy struck ; unhappily, the fleet did 
not anchor, as Nelson, almost with his dying breath, had 
enjoined. A gale came on from the southwest : some of the 
prizes went down, some went on shore ; one effected its escape 
into Cadiz ; others were destroyed ; four only were saved, and 
those by the greatest exertions. The wounded Spaniards were 
sent ashore, an assurance being given that they should not 
serve till regularly exchanged ; and the Spaniards, with a 
generous feeling, which would not perhaps have been found in 
any other people, offered the use of their hospitals for our 
wounded, pledging the honor of Spain that they should be 
carefully attended there. When the storm, after the action, 
drove some of the prizes upon the coast, they declared that the 
English, who were thus thrown into their hands, should not be 
considered as prisoners of war ; and the Spanish soldiers gave 
up their own beds to their shipwrecked enemies. The Spanish 
vice-admiral, Alva, died of his wounds. Villeneuve was sent 
to England, and permitted to return to France. The French 
government say that he destroyed himself on the way to Paris, 
dreading the consequences of a court-martial ; but there is 
every reason to believe that the tyrant, who never acknowledged 
the loss of the battle of Trafalgar, added Villeneuve to the 
numerous victims of his murderous policy. 



226 southey's life of nelson. 

It is almost superfluous to add that all the honors which a 
grateful country could bestow were heaped upon the memory 
of Nelson. His brother was made an earl, with a grant of 
;^6ooo a year; ;^i 0,000 were voted to each of his sisters, and 
^100,000 for the purchase of an estate.-^ A public funeral was 
decreed, and a public monument. Statues and monuments 
also were voted by most of our principal cities. The leaden 
coffin in which he was brought home was cut in pieces, which 
were distributed as relics of St. Nelson — so the gunner of the 
Victory called them ; and when at his interment his flag was 
about to be lowered into the grave, the sailors who assisted at 
the ceremony with one accord rent it in pieces, that each might 
preserve a fragment while he lived. 

The death of Nelson was felt in England as something more 
than a public calamity; men started at the intelligence and 
turned pale, as if they had heard of the loss of a dear friend. 
An object of our admiration and affection, of our pride and of 
our hopes, was suddenly taken from us ; and it seemed as if we 
had never till then known how deeply we loved and reverenced 
him. What the country has lost in its great naval hero — the 
greatest of our own and of all former times — was scarcely 
taken into the account of grief. So perfectly indeed had he 
performed his part, that the maritime war after the battle of 
Trafalgar was considered at an end ; the fleets of the enemy 
were not merely defeated, but destroyed ; new navies must be 
built, and a new race of seamen reared for them, before the 
possibility of their invading our shores could again be contem- 
plated. It was not, therefore, from any selfish reflection upon 

1 " The total sums granted were ;^ 2,000 per annum to his widow for her 
life; ;!^5,ooo per annum to the person who might succeed to the earldom of 
Nelson; ;i^99,ooo for the purchase of an estate ; and ^15,000 to each of 
his sisters." — Sir N. H. Nicolas. No attention was paid to Nelson's 
last bequest, in which he left Lady Hamilton and his daughter as a legacy 
to the nation. 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 22/ 

t t magnitude of our loss that we mourned for him ; the 
g jneral sorrow was of a higher character. 

The people of England grieved that funeral ceremonies and 

] iblic monuments and posthumous rewards were all which 

' ley could now bestow upon him whom the King, the legisla- 

are, and the nation would have alike delighted to honor ; 

hom every tongue would have blessed ; whose presence in 

very village through which he might have passed would have 

^^akened the church bells, have given schoolboys a holiday, 

lave drawn children from their sports to gaze upon him, and 

'old men from the chimney corner" to look upon Nelson ere 

they died. The victory of Trafalgar was celebrated, indeed, 

with the usual forms of rejoicing, but they were without joy ; 

for such already was the glory of the British navy through 

Nelson's surpassing genius, that it scarcely seemed to receive 

any addition from the most signal victory that ever was 

achieved upon the seas ; and the destruction of this mighty 

fleet, by which all the maritime schemes of France were totally 

frustrated, hardly appeared to add to our security or strength, 

for while Nelson was living to watch the combined squadrons 

of the enemy we felt ourselves as secure as now, when they 

were no longer in existence. 

" Nelson's funeral was one of great magnificence. The Scots Greys led 
the procession, other regiments followed, their bands playing solemn music, 
and the military array was closed by eleven pieces of cannon and some 
companies of Grenadiers.- Then came lines of carriages of commoners and 
of peers ; pensioners of Greenwich Hospital ; seamen and marines of the 
Victory bearing the admiral's flag, whose folds were sieve-like with the 
balls which had passed through it ; heralds in gauntlet and spur, in helm 
and crest, and target and sword ; naval lieutenants and admirals bearing 
the canopy and supporting the pall, with the coffin on a car formed of four 
columns resembling palm-trees, and having on its front and back a carved 
representation of the head and stern of the Victory. The expense of this 
public funeral amounted to ;^i4,ooo." — W. Clark Russell's Life of 
Nelson. 



228 southey's life of nelson. 

There was reason to suppose, from the appearances upon 
opening the body, that in the course of nature he might have 
attained, like his father, to a good old age. Yet he cannot be 
said to have fallen prematurely whose work was done, nor 
ought he to be lamented who died so full of honors and at the 
height of human fame. The most triumphant death is that of 
the martyr ; the most awful that of the martyred patriot ; the 
most splendid that of the hero in the hour of victory; and if 
the chariot and the horses of fire had been vouchsafed for 
Nelson's translation, he could scarcely have departed in a 
brighter blaze of glory. He has left us, not indeed his mantle 
of inspiration, but a name and an example which are at this 
hour inspiring thousands of the youth of England, — a name 
which is our pride, and an example which will continue to be 
our shield and our strength. Thus it is that the spirits of the 
great and the wise continue to live and to act after them, 
verifying in this sense the language of the old mythologist : ^ 

Toi ixev daifxoves elat, Aibs fieydXov dia jSofXds 
'Ecr^Xot, eTTixdoPioi, 0j)Xa/ces OvrjrCbv avdpibirwv. 

1 Old mythologist. — A quotation from Hesiod's " Works and Days ": 

" Aerial spirits by great Jove designed 
To be on earth the guardians of mankind ; 
Invisible to mortal eyes they go, 
And mark our actions, good or bad, below." 

Cooke's Translation (Bohn's edition). 



ADDITIONAL NOTES.i 



-o-o><g^o«- 



Nelson was a little, spare, active man, brisk-tempered and generous. 
His secretary, who knew him best, says he was noted for '^ penetration, 
quick judgment, clear wisdom, great and correct decision; " all of which is 
abundantly confirmed by this " Life." In company, he was cheerful and 
pleasant, without appearing to have any weight on his mind. At sea, he 
rose at four or five ; breakfasted never later than seven, a midshipman 
being always of the party. " He entered into their boyish jokes, and could 
be merry with the youngest." The business of the fleet was dispatched 
before eight, so that he had the whole day before him for correspondence, 
etc. He walked the deck several hours for exercise. At dinner he had 
every officer in turn. He ate and drank sparingly, not using salt (says Dr. 
Beatty), as he believed it to be the " sole cause of scurvy." He retired at 
10 P.M. His hatred to the French of that day, which breaks out now and 
then in so strong and amusing a manner, was justified by the conduct of 
the ferocious revolutionary banditti who swarmed everywhere in defiance 
of their neighbors' rights ; and by the policy of the Imperial Robber, whom 
the Duke of Wellington (in the "' Croker Papers ") pronounced to be the 
" Jonathan Wild of Europe," and whose great object was the conquest or 
destruction of England. " This," said Sheridan, " is his last prayer at night, 
to whatever deity he may address it, whether to Jupiter or Mahomet, to the 
goddess of Battles or the goddess of Reason." 

Lady Hamilton, — The habits of this clever and beautiful woman were 
so extravagant, that she was obliged to sell Merton House, which Nelson 
had left her, to pay her debts, after selling the Trafalgar coat and other 
relics to Mrs. Smith of Twickenham, the wife of Mr. Alderman Smith, her 
chief creditor. From Mrs. Smith the coat was bought by the Prince 
Consort, and presented to Greenwich Hospital. 

Lady Hamilton, after going through the King's Bench, went to Calais, 
and died there in great distress, of dropsy, Jan. 15, 181 5. She was buried 
in a cemetery in Rue Fran9aise, now a timber yard. 

1 Compiled from Southey's " Life of Nelson," published in " Bohn's Illustrated Library." 



230 ADDITIONAL NOTES. 

Horatia Nelson Thompson, afterwards Horatia Nelson, was born about 
the 29th-3ist of January, 1801, the daughter of Nelson and Lady Hamilton, 
and baptized 1803. She remained with Lady Hamilton till her death, 181 5; 
then went to live with her relations. In 1828 she married the Reverend P. 
Ward, afterwards Vicar of Tenterden, where she died, the mother of eight 
children. 

Portraits of Nelson. — By Rigaud, 1781, done for Captain Locker. By 
L. F. Abbott, 1798, unfinished ; and his finished portrait of the same date, 
bequeathed by Sir W. Davison ; both at Greenwich Hospital. Another, 
by Abbott, in the National Portrait Gallery, Bethnal Green. One of 
Abbott's portraits is engraved for Sir H. Nicolas's " Dispatches and Letters," 
and has an autograph by Lady Nelson, stating that the likeness is great, 
and that " our good father is delighted with the likeness." By H. Fiiger, 
1800 ; a head, done at Vienna. By Guzzardi, 1799, at the Admiralty ; done 
for Sir W. Hamilton, and engraved in Pettigrew's " Memoirs." It is a 
picturesque work, with blue eyes, a pale wasted face (from fever), and a cocked 
hat, ornamented with the Grand Signior's diamond aigrette. By Hoppner, 
engraved for the edition of Southey's " Life," in Bohn's Standard Library. 
By Sir W. Beechey, at Draper's Hall ; and another at Norwich City Hall. 
By A. W. Devis, 1805, just before Trafalgar ; done for Admiral Sir Bladen 
Capel, and engraved in Pettigrew's " Memoirs." It is the last one painted 
from life. 

Portrait of Lady Hamilton, by Romney, at the National Portrait Gallery, 
Bethnal Green. Of Sir William Hamilton, two portraits, by Reynolds and 
Allan; also, in the National Portrait Gallery. Romney, an enthusiastic 
admirer of Lady Hamilton, painted above twenty portraits of her in differ- 
ent characters. One, a Bacchante, is at the National Gallery. 

Busts of Nelson. — A Bust at Guildhall, in marble, by the Hon. Mrs. 
Damer, the only one for which he sat, in the coat worn by him at the Nile, 
which he then gave her, and which is now at Greenwich Hospital. She 
gave a bronze copy of this bust to the Duke of Clarence, who placed it on 
a stump of the Victory'^ s foremast, which is now at Windsor, between busts 
of Marlborough and Wellington. 

A large bronze bust in the upper quadrangle at Greenwich, is by Sir F. 
Chantrey, 1834, the gift of Lady Chantrey. 

Monuments. — In St. Paul's, by Flaxman ; and another at Guildhall, 
with an inscription by Sheridan. At Norwich, a statue (near the Cathe- 
dral), apparently a good likeness. At Bristol ; at Birmingham, in the Bull 
Ring; Liverpool, on the Exchange ; Edinburgh, on Carlton Hill ; Glasgow, 
a column in the Park ; and Dublin, a column in Sackville Street. Column 
at Trafalgar Square, London, with a statue by Baily, R.A., bas-reliefs of 



ADDITIONAL NOTES. 23 I 

his four chief actions, and Lions by Landseer. A pillar, or sea-mark, near 
the Nelson Fort, in Portsmouth ; and a pillar at Yarmouth. 

His brother gave out that he hoped to build a monument to Nelson at 
Burnham Thorpe, but he never had the heart to do it, though he lived 
down to 1835. Nelson always remembered the poor there, sending New 
Year's gifts of blankets ; and he left them a sum in his will. 

Nelson Relics. — At Greenwich Hospital, in the Nelson Room of the 
Painted Hall, and in the Naval Museum there. Among the Relics kept 
there with as much pious regard as if he were a saint, are the Nile coat, 
given by the Duke of Clarence ; the Trafalgar coat and waistcoat, given by 
the Prince Consort ; his Nile medal ; his dress sword ; the Grand Signior's 
gun, sabre, and canteen, all richly ornamented ; pieces of embroidery from 
his sleeping cot. Also, a small enamel portrait, his watch and seal, snuff- 
box made of a bit of the Orient, stock and pig-tail as then worn, and the 
drinking-glasses used by him and Lady Hamilton, all bequeathed by his 
daughter, Mrs. Ward. 

The Victory, Nelson's ship, lies in Portsmouth harbor, an almost 
unique specimen of a wooden sailing-ship of her day, but of course much 
altered ; indeed, almost rebuilt from stem to stern to keep her afloat. The 
spots where Nelson fell and died, on deck and below, are marked. A bit 
of the deck, taken from the place where he fell, is at the United Service 
Institution ; and at the Junior United Service Club are models of all the 
ships at Trafalgar, on a table made from the Victory^s timbers. She was 
visited by the Queen on Trafalgar Day, 1844. "Everybody" (says De 
Quincey) "must remember the immortal scene on board the Victory, at 4 
P.M. of Oct. 21, 1805; and the farewell 'Kiss me. Hardy' of the mighty 
admiral." 

She carried Earl St. Vincent's flag in the battle of 1798, and is one of a 
succession of ships so named, and used as flag-ships. Her predecessor of 
the name was lost in 1744 near the Channel Islands, with 1200 of her crew. 

The Dreadnought, one of the Trafalgar ships, was used as a hospital ship 
at Greenwich till broken up, 1857 ; but her name is perpetuated in the 
Infirmary for Seamen ashore. 

The San Joseph was for many years in Plymouth harbor. 

Among the latest survivors of the Trafalgar men were Admirals Sir E. 
Codrington, Sir T. B. Capel, and Sir C. Bullen (died 1853). Admiral Sir 
C. Sartorius (born 1790, died 1881), was a midshipman in the Tonnatit. 
Admiral Sir G. A. Westphal (born 1786, died 1874) was a midshipman in 
the Victory, where he was wounded in the head, and lay next to his great 
chief in the cockpit. He was younger brother to Admiral Sir P. Westphal 
(born 1782, died 1880), who was a midshipman at Copenhagen, 1801. 



232 ADDITIONAL NOTES. 

The Earldom, conferred by George III., went by patent to Nelson's elder 
brother, William, a mean, avaricious man, who kept the important codicil 
in his pocket till it could be of no ilse to Lady Hamilton. He owed his 
title, property, social standing, everything, to his generous brother. His 
line ended with himself, 1S35. The EngUsh title was carried on by his 
sister's son, Thomas Bolton ; but the title of Duke of Bronte, went, in 
consequence of a Chancery suit, to his niece Charlotte, Lady Bridport, 
together with the estate, tlie Grand Signior's plume, and the sword of the 
King of Naples, which are held by the Bridport family. 

Nelson's wife, Viscountess Nelson, died 1831. 



MEMOIR OF NELSON'S SERVICES. 



WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 



October i^th, lygg- Port Mahon. 

HORATIO NELSON, son of the Reverend Edmund 
Nelson, Rector of Burnham Thorpe, in the county 
of Norfolk, and Catherine his wife, daughter of Doctor Suck- 
ling, Prebendary of Westminster, whose grandmother was sister 
to Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford. 

I was born September 29th, 1758, in the parsonage-house, 
was sent to the high-school at Norwich, and afterwards removed 
to North Walsham ; from whence, on the disturbance with 
Spain relative to the Falkland Islands, I went to sea with my 
uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, in t\iQ Raisonnable, of 64 guns. 
But the business with Spain being accommodated, I was sent 
in a West-India ship belonging to the house of Hibbert, Furrier, 
Horton, with Mr. John Rathbone, who had formerly been in 
the Navy, in the Dreadnought, with Captain Suckling. From 
this voyage I returned to the Triumph, at Chatham, in July, 
1772 ; and, if I did not improve in my education, I returned a 
practical seaman, with a horror of the royal Navy, and with a 
saying then constant with the seamen, "Aft the most honor; 
forward the better man ! " It was many weeks before I got in 
the least reconciled to a man-of-war, so deep was the prejudice 
rooted ; and what pains were taken to instil this erroneous 
principle in a young mind ! However, as my ambition was to 



234 MEMOIR OF NELSON S SERVICES. 

be a seaman, it was always held out as a reward, that if I 
attended well to my navigation, I should go in the cutter and 
decked long-boat, which was attached to the commanding 
officer's ship at Chatham. Thus by degrees I became a good 
pilot, for vessels of that description, from Chatham to the 
Tower of London, down the Swin and the North Foreland ; 
and confident of myself amongst rocks and sands, which has 
many times since been of great comfort to me. In this way I 
was trained, till the expedition towards the North Pole was 
fitted out ; when although no boys were allowed to go in the 
ships (as of no use), yet nothing could prevent my using every 
interest to go with Captain Lutwidge, in the Carcass ; and as I 
fancied I was to fill a man's place, I begged I might be his 
cockswain : which, finding my ardent desire for going with 
him, Captain Lutwidge complied with, and has continued the 
strictest friendship to this moment. Lord Mulgrave, whom I 
then first knew, maintained his kindest friendship and regard 
to the last moment of his life. When the boats were fitting out 
to quit the two ships blocked up in the ice, I exerted myself to 
have the command of a four-oared cutter raised upon, which 
was given me, with twelve men ; and I prided myself in 
fancying I could navigate her better than any other boat in 
the ship. 

On our arrival in England, being paid off, October 15th, I 
found that a squadron was fitting out for the East Indies ; and 
nothing less than such a distant voyage could in the least 
satisfy my desire of maritime knowledge. I was placed in the 
Seahorse^ of 20 guns, with Captain Farmer, and watched in the 
fore-top ; from whence in time I was placed on the quarter- 
deck : having, in the time I was in this ship, visited almost 
every part of the East Indies, from Bengal to Bussorah. Ill 
health induced Sir Edward Hughes, who had always shown me 
the greatest kindness, to send me to England in the Dolphin, 
of 20 guns, with Captain James Pigot, whose kindness at that 



MEMOIR OF NELSON S SERVICES. 235 

time saved my life. This ship was paid off at Woolwich, on 
the 24th September, 1776. On the 26th, I received an order 
from Sir James Douglass, who commanded at Portsmouth, to 
act as lieutenant of the Worcester, 64, Captain Mark Robinson, 
who was ordered to Gibraltar with a convoy. In this ship I 
was at sea with convoys till April 2d, 1777, and in very bad 
weather; but although my age might have been a sufficient 
cause for not entrusting me with the charge of a watch, yet 
Captain Robinson used to say, " he felt as easy when I was 
upon deck, as any officer in the ship." 

On the 8th of April, 1777, I passed my examination as a 
lieutenant, and received my commission the next day, as 
second lieutenant of the Lowestoffe frigate, of 32 guns. Captain 
(afterwards Lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital) William 
Locker. In this ship I went to Jamaica ; but even a frigate 
was not sufficiently active for my mind, and I got into a 
schooner, tender to the Lowestoffe. In this vessel I made 
myself a complete pilot for all the passages through the Keys 
(islands) situated on the north side of Hispaniola. Whilst in 
this frigate, an event happened which presaged my character; 
and as it conveys no dishonor to the officer alluded to, I shall 
relate it. 

Blowing a gale of wind, and very heavy sea, the frigate 
captured an American letter-of-marque. The first lieutenant 
was ordered to board her, which he did not do, owing to the 
very high sea. On his return, the captain said, " Have I no 
officer in the ship who can board the prize ? " On which the 
master ran to the gangway, to get into the boat : when I 
stopped him, saying, " It is my turn now ; and if I come back 
it is yours." This little incident has often occurred to my 
mind ; and I know it is my disposition, that difficulties and 
dangers do but increase my desire of attempting them. 

Sir Peter Parker, soon after his arrival at Jamaica, 1778, 
took me into his own flag-ship, the Bristol, as third lieu- 



236 MEMOIR OF nelson's SERVICES. 

tenant ; from which I rose by succession to be the first. 
Nothing particular happened whilst I was in this ship, which 
was actively employed off Cape Francois, it being the com- 
mencement of the French war. 

On the 8th of December, 1778, I was appointed commander 
of the Badger brig ; and was first sent to protect the Mosquito 
shore, and the Bay of Honduras, from the depredations of the 
American privateers. Whilst on this service, I gained so much 
on the affections of the settlers, that they unanimously voted me 
their thanks, and expressed their regret on my leaving them ; 
entrusting me to describe to Sir Peter Parker and Sir John 
Dalling their situation, should a war with Spain break out. 
Whilst I commanded this brig, H.M.S. Glasgow, Captain 
Thomas Lloyd, came into Montego Bay, Jamaica, where the 
Badger was lying ; in two hours afterwards she took fire by a 
cask of rum ; and Captain Lloyd will tell you, that it was owing 
to my exertions, joined to his, that her whole crew were rescued 
from the flames. 

On the nth of June, 1779, I was made post into the 
Hinchinbrook : when, being at sea, and Count d'Estaing 
arriving at Hispaniola with a very large fleet and army from 
Martinico, an attack on Jamaica was expected. In this critical 
state, I was by both admiral and general intrusted with the 
command of the batteries at Port Royal ; and I need not say, 
as this place was the key to the whole naval force, the town of 
Kingston, and Spanish Town, the defense of it was the most 
important post in the whole island. 

In January, 1780, an expedition being resolved on against 
St. Juan's, I was chosen to direct the sea part of it. Major 
Poison, who commanded, will tell you of my exertions ; how I 
quitted my ship, carried troops in boats an hundred miles up 
a river which none but Spaniards, since the time of the buc- 
caneers, had ever ascended. It will then be told how I 
boarded, if I may be allowed the expression, an outpost of the 



MEMOIR OF nelson's SERVICES. 23/ 

enemy, situated on an island in the river ; that I made 
batteries and afterwards fought them, and was a principal 
cause of our success. From this scene I was appointed to 
the Janus^ 44, at Jamaica, and went to Port Royal in the 
Victor Sloop. 

My state of health was now so bad, that I was obliged to go 
to England in the Lion, the Honorable William Cornwallis, 
Captain ; whose care and attention again saved my life. In 
August, 1 78 1, I was commissioned for the Albeinarle ; and, it 
would almost be supposed to try my constitution, was kept the 
whole winter in the North Sea. In April, 1782, I sailed with 
a convoy for Newfoundland and Quebec, under the orders of 
Captain Thomas Pringle. From Quebec, during a cruise off 
Boston, I was chased by three French ships of the line, and 
the Iris frigate ; as they all beat me in sailing very much, I 
had no chance left, but running them amongst the shoals of St. 
George's bank. This alarmed the line-of-battle ships, and 
they quitted the pursuit ; but the frigate continued, and at 
sunset was little more than gunshot distant : when, the line- 
of-battle ships being out of sight, I ordered the main-topsail 
to be laid to the mast ; on this the frigate tacked and stood to 
rejoin her consorts. 

In October I sailed from Quebec with a convoy to New York, 
where I joined the fleet under the command of Lord Hood ; 
and in November I sailed with him to the West Indies, where 
I remained till the peace, when I came to England, — being 
directed in my way to attend H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence, on 
his visit to the Havannah, and was paid off at Portsmouth, on 
July 3d, 1783. In the autumn I went to France, and remained 
there till the spring of the year 1784 ; when I was appointed 
to the Boreas frigate, of 28 guns, and ordered to the Leeward 
Islands station. 

This station opened a new scene to the officers of the British 
Navy. The Americans, when colonists, possessed almost all 



238 MEMOIR OF nelson's SERVICES. 

the trade from America to our West India Islands, and on the 
return of peace they forgot, on this occasion, that they became 
foreigners, and of course had no right to trade in the British 
colonies. Our governors and custom-house officers pretended 
that by the Navigation Act they had a right to trade; and 
all the West Indians wished what was so much for their 
interest. 

Having given governors, custom-house officers, and Ameri- 
cans notice of what I would do, I seized many of their vessels, 
which brought all parties upon me ; and I was persecuted from 
one island to another, so that I could not leave my ship. But 
conscious rectitude bore me through it ; and I was supported, 
when the business came to be understood, from home ; and I 
proved (and an act of parliament has since established it) that 
a captain of a man-of-war is in duty bound to support all the 
maritime laws, by his Admiralty commission alone, without 
becoming a custom-house officer. 

In July, 1786, I was left with the command till June, 1787, 
when I sailed for England. During the winter H.R.H. the 
Duke of Clarence visited the Leeward Islands in the Pegasus 
frigate, of which he was captain. And in March this year I 
married Frances Herbert Nisbet, widow of Dr. Nisbet, of the 
island of Nevis ; by whom I have no children. 

The Boreas being paid off at Sheerness, on November the 
30th, T lived at Burnham Thorpe, county of Norfolk, in the 
parsonage-house. In 1790, when the affair with Spain, relative 
to Nootka Sound, had nearly involved us in a war, I made use 
of every interest to get a ship, ay^ even a boat, to serve my 
country, but in vain ; there was a prejudice at the Admiralty 
evidently against me, which I can neither guess at, nor in the 
least account for . . .^ 

1 " Some words evidently occurred here, which Dr. Clarke and Mr. 
M' Arthur thought fit to suppress (a proceeding which they adopted on 
many occasions), and as the original MS. has not been found, it is 



MEMOIR OF NELSON S SERVICES. 239 

On the 30th of January, 1793, I was commissioned in the 
handsomest way for the Agamemnon^ 64 guns, and was put 
under the command of that great man and excellent officer. 
Lord Hood, appointed to the command in the Mediterranean. 
The unbounded confidence on all occasions placed in me by 
his lordship, will show his opinions of my abilities ; having 
served in the command of the seamen landed for the sieges of 
Bastia and Calvi. 

His lordship in October, 1794, left the Mediterranean to 
Admiral Hotham, who also honored me with the same confi- 
dence. I was in the actions of the 13th and 14th of March, 
1795, and 13 th of July in the same year. For the share I had 
in them, I refer to the Admiralty letters. I was then appointed 
by Admiral Hotham to cooperate with the Austrian General 
De Vins, which I did all the time Admiral Hotham retained 
the command, till November ; when he was superseded by Sir 
John Jervis, now Earl Vincent. 

In April, 1796, the commander-in-chief so much approved 
my conduct, that he directed me to wear a distinguishing 
pendant. In June I was removed from the Agamemnon to the 
Captain^ and on the nth of August had appointed a captain 
under me. Between April and October, 1796, I was employed 
in the blockade of Leghorn, taking Porto Ferrajo, the island of 
Caprea, and finally in the evacuation of Bastia ; when, having 
seen the troops in safety to Porto Ferrajo, I joined the admiral 
in St. Fiorenzo Bay, and proceeded with him to Gibraltar ; 
whence in December I was sent in La Minerve frigate, Captain 
George Cockburn, to Porto Ferrajo, to bring down our naval 
stores, &c. On the passage we captured a Spanish frigate, La 
Sabina, of 40 guns, 28 eighteen-pounders on her main deck, as 
will appear by my letter. 

impossible to supply the omission. Nelson's letters at this period leave 
no doubt that a prejudice existed against him at the Admiralty, if not in 
higher quarters." — Nelson's Dispatches. 



240 MEMOIR OF NELSON S SERVICES. 

For an account of what passed from our sailing from Porto 
Ferrajo on the 29th of January, 1797, to the finish of the 
action on the 14th of February, I refer to the account 
published by Colonel Drinkwater. The King, for my con- 
duct, gave me a gold medal, and the city of London a 
gold box. 

In April, 1797, I hoisted my flag as Rear- Admiral of the 
Blue, and was sent to bring down the garrison of Porto 
Ferrajo ; which service performed, I shifted my flag from the 
Captain to the Theseus on May the 27th, and was employed in 
the command of the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz. 
It was during this period that perhaps my personal courage 
was more conspicuous than at any other period of my life. In 
an attack of the Spanish gunboats I was boarded, in my barge, 
with its common crew of ten men, cockswain, Captain Fre- 
mantle, and myself, by the commander of the gunboats. The 
Spanish barge rowed twenty-six oars, besides oflicers — thirty 
men in the whole : this was a service hand-to-hand with swords, 
in which my cockswain, John Sykes (now no more), saved 
twice my life. Eighteen of the Spaniards being killed, and 
several wounded, we succeeded in taking their commander. 
On the 15th of July, 1797, I sailed for Teneriffe ; for the 
event, I refer to my letter on that expedition. Having then 
lost my right arm, for this loss and my former services his 
Majesty was pleased to settle on me a pension of ;^iooo 
a-year ; by some unlucky mismanagement of my arm I was 
obliged to go to England ; and it was the 13th of December, 
1797, before the surgeons pronounced me fit for service. On 
the 19th of December the Vafiguard was commissioned for my 
flag-ship. 

On the I St of April, 1798, I sailed with a convoy from 
Spithead ; at the back of the Wight, the wind coming to the 
westward, I was forced to return to St. Helen's, and finally 
sailed on the 9th of April, carrying a convoy to Oporto and 



MEMOIR OF NELSON S SERVICES. 24I 

Lisbon. I joined Earl St. Vincent off Cadiz, on April 29th; 
on the 30th I was ordered into the Mediterranean. I refer to 
the printed narrative of my proceedings to the close of the 
Battle of the Nile. 

On the 2 2d of September, 1798, I arrived at Naples, and 
was received as a deliverer by the King, Queen, and the whole 
Kingdom. October 12th, the blockade of Malta took place, 
which has continued without intermission to this day. On the 
2 1 St of December, 1798, his Sicilian Majesty and family 
embarked in the Vanguard^ and were carried to Palermo in 
Sicily. In March, 1799, I arranged a plan for taking the 
islands in the Bay of Naples, and for supporting the Royalists, 
who were making head in the kingdom. This plan succeeded 
in every part. In May I shifted my flag, being promoted to 
be Rear- Admiral of the Red, to the Fozidroyanf, and was 
obliged to be on my guard against the French fleets. In June 
and July, 1799, I went to Naples, and, as his Sicilian Majesty 
is pleased to say, reconquered his kingdom, and placed him 
on his throne. On the 9th of August I brought his Sicilian 
Majesty back to Palermo, having been upwards of four weeks 
on board the Foiidroya7tt. 

On the 13th, his Sicilian Majesty presented me with a sword 
magnificently enriched with diamonds, the title of Duke of 
Bronte, and annexed to it the fief of Bronte, supposed to be 
worth ;^3ooo per annum. On the arrival of the Russian 
squadron at Naples, I directed Commodore Trowbridge to go 
with the squadron, and blockade closely Civita Vecchia, and to 
offer the French most favorable conditions, if they would 
evacuate Rome and Civita Vecchia ; which terms the French 
general Grenier complied with, and they were signed on 
board the Culloden ; when a prophecy made to me on my 
arrival at Naples was fulfilled, viz.. That I should take Rome 
with my ships. 



242 MEMOIR OF NELSON S SERVICES. 

Thus may be exemplified by my life, that perseverance in 
any profession will most probably meet its reward. Without 
having any inheritance, or having been fortunate in prize- 
money, I have received all the honors of my profession, been 
created a peer of Great Britain, &c. And I may say to the 
reader, 

"go THOU AND DO LIKEWISE." 

NELSON. 



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Aesop's Fables. 

Andersen's Fairy Tales. First 

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Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. 
Burt's Stories from Plato. 
Chesterfield's Letters. 
Church's Stories of the Old 

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Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. 
Dickens' Tale of Two Cities. 
Cervantes' Don Quixote of La 

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Epictetus. 
Fiske-Irving's Washington and 

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Francillon's Gods and Heroes. 
Franklin : His Life by Himself. 
Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield. 
Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part I. 
Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part H. 
Grote and Segur's Two Great 

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Hale's Arabian Nights. 
Hudson and Lamb's Merchant of 

Venice. 
Hughes' Tom Brown at Rugby. 
Irving's Alhambra. 



Irving's Sketch-Book. (Six Se- 
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Johnson's Rasselas. 
Kingsley's Greek Heroes. 
Kingsley's Water Babies. 
Lamb's Adventures of Ulysses. 
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare 
Marcus Aurelius. 
Martine^o^'s Peasant and the 

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Montgomery's Heroic Ballads. 
Plutarch's Lives. 
Ruskin's King of the Golden 

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Selections from Ruskin. 
Scott's Guy Mannering. 

Ivanhoe. 

Lady of the Lake. 

Lay of the Last Minstrel. 

Marmion, 

Old Mortality. 

Quentin Durward. 

Rob Roy. 

Tales of a Grandfather. 

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